News

By Dan Moffett
    
A Palm Beach County Circuit Court judge has echoed the words of a federal ruling in dismissing the town of Gulf Stream’s conspiracy complaint over hundreds of public records requests filed by residents Martin O’Boyle and Chris O’Hare.
    Circuit Judge Richard Oftedal ruled on Nov. 4 that O’Boyle and O’Hare have the “absolute right under current Florida law to file public record requests and then file lawsuits if the requests went unanswered.”
    Oftedal threw out the town’s request for an injunction halting new requests from the two men and said their lawsuits and claims for attorney’s fees should go forward.
    The judge’s ruling against Gulf Stream came with a dose of empathy for the town’s predicament in dealing with the onslaught of records requests, however.
    “The court is neither unmindful nor unsympathetic with the plight of Gulf Stream, a small municipality of only 17 permanent employees, who, if the allegations are true, are being forced to divert taxpayer monies earmarked for public services in order to address the avalanche of public records requests being filed for no purpose other than to harass and shake down the town by fear and the threat of having to pay attorneys’ fees under the statute,” Oftedal wrote. “While Gulf Stream may well be the poster boy for those victimized by individuals seeking to ‘game the system’ by suing public agencies, it is hardly alone.”
    The judge said relief for the town and other municipalities would have to come from the Florida Legislature, which could change the law. Oftedal’s ruling aligned with that of U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Marra, who in June threw out the town’s civil RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) suit against the two men. The town’s attorneys are appealing that dismissal.
    “Thankfully, for citizens, journalists and data collectors, Judge Oftedal is not alone and is part of a growing trend of courts refusing to use their judicial powers to prevent people from exercising civil rights,” said Jonathan O’Boyle, Martin’s son and an attorney named as a defendant in the town’s cases, who criticized Mayor Scott Morgan for not pursuing a settlement.
Morgan has said the town is willing to negotiate when O’Boyle and O’Hare agree to drop their lawsuits and make a serious proposal to the town’s attorneys.
The O’Boyles have urged town commissioners to form a panel of residents and officials to help broker a settlement.
    “Morgan is crazy if he thinks that he can resolve this issue without a sit-down,” Jonathan O’Boyle said. “In my opinion, attributable to me and no one else, a sit-down is mandatory.”
    In other business:
    • The Florida Commission on Ethics has dismissed O’Hare’s complaint against Town Attorney John Randolph. O’Hare had accused the town of an improper contractual arrangement with Randolph that allowed him to directly pass work on to his law firm. The commission found “no probable cause to believe that he (Randolph) misused his public position to benefit himself, his law firm, or others.”
    • Residents will notice a $30 fee added to their water bills next year. The surcharge is to build the town’s utility fund to prepare for problems with the aging infrastructure. Many of the town’s water pipes are more than 50 years old and living on borrowed time, officials say, and a failure can cost more than $1 million to repair. Ú