News

By Steve Plunkett

    Former Vice Mayor Robert Ganger wants the town to pay $2,355 he spent fighting a deposition in a Martin O’Boyle lawsuit against Gulf Stream.
    The amount requested by Ganger, who is recuperating from a stroke that forced him to quit his commission seat in July, is less than a third of what his lawyer charged, said Kristine de Haseth, executive director of the Florida Coalition for Preservation, which Ganger co-founded. “His doctor was very firm in his opinion that Mr. Ganger could not be deposed as part of this frivolous lawsuit,” de Haseth said.
    Commissioner Joan Orthwein said she had no objection to paying the legal fees. “I think it’s very sad that he had to go out and find a personal attorney to defend himself,” Orthwein said.
    Ganger’s total bill to obtain a protective order from being deposed was around $12,000, but de Haseth said she negotiated with his lawyer to get the bill closer to $7,500.
    She urged town commissioners to approve the request for $2,355 “not only as a vote of confidence for Mr. Ganger and all the years that he served, but hopefully that you’ll never be in this position also.”
    Resident O’Boyle has filed dozens of lawsuits against Gulf Stream over the last four years and made thousands of requests for public records.
    Commissioners decided to postpone the matter until their next meeting, which they rescheduled from Nov. 11 to Nov. 10 to avoid the Veterans Day holiday.