Judge Kyle Cohen will hear the case to consolidate Karen Woodson and John King’s lawsuits against Ray Murphy and Bill Veach this morning at 11AM. Woodson and King are requesting that the lawsuits be consolidated and heard together.
Woodson has filed a lawsuit against Murphy. King has filed a lawsuit against Veach. Murphy and Veach are co-chairs of the committee to recall Woodson and King. Woodson and King are asking the court to throw out the recall because they say it is all based on lies. Veach and Murphy have accused King and Woodson of violating the Sunshine Law and accepting gifts from developers. Both have denied the allegations and no proof has been provided by the recallers.
Woodson and King are being represented by Sarasota based attorney Morgan Bentley. Murphy and Veach are being represented by former Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi.
The hearing will be held by Zoom and is open to the public. It’s expected to last about 15 minutes and we will carry the hearing live on our Facebook page.
The Lee County Elections office is in the process of validating round two signatures from the recall committee. 609 were submitted for King and 610 for Woodson. 505 were needed. If 505 or more signatures are validated a judge will set a date for a the recall election between 30 and 60 days after validation. It’s not yet known how the lawsuits will impact the recall process.
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