Not long after Fort Myers Beach town councilman John King filed a lawsuit against former council member Bill Veach, Karen Woodson filed a lawsuit against former Mayor Ray Murphy, who is chairing the recall committee with Veach.
The recall committee has been collecting signatures to recall Woodson and King telling voters the recall is about Seagate and other redevelopment on Fort Myers Beach. There’s no doubt there is anger on the island about the Seagate vote. However, a vote on a specific resolution before the council is not grounds for a recall which is why it’s not on the petition to recall.
On the petition, Murphy and Veach allege Woodson violated Florida’s Sunshine Law and accepted meals from developers who had business coming before the council. Those allegations, according to Murphy and Veach, were the “malfeasance” and “misfeasance” Woodson committed. Malfeasance and misfeasance are on the list of acceptable reasons for a recall in the state statute.
Misfeasance is the “performance of a legal act in an improper or illegal manner.” Malfeasance is the “performance of a completely illegal or wrongful act.” Woodson denies the allegations and the recall committee has never provided any proof that what they allege actually occurred.
The lawsuit filing states that a petition does not meet the statutory requirements of the Florida recall statute when “the statement in the petition is nothing more than a conclusion or opinion without any tangible basis in fact.”
The filing goes on to say that the Florida statute is “obviously not intended to allow a petitioner to speak only in vague generality. Were we to uphold a recall petition based on the bare allegations before us, it would be tantamount to declaring “open season” on any elected official who did anything, or failed to do something, which happened to displease ten percent of the electorate.”
Woodson requests a speedy hearing from the court and requests the court “declare the petition to be legally insufficient; award attorneys’ fees and costs as appropriate; and reserve jurisdiction to enter such other relief as may be appropriate.”
Murphy has 20 days to respond when he served with the lawsuit.
This week the second phase of the recall started against Woodson and King. Murphy and Veach have 60 days to collect 505 signatures (15% of the voters) to take the recall to the voters. It’s unclear just yet what happens to that process while these lawsuits are considered.
Ed you said you would post videos of what the petition collectors were saying. Never saw any videos. How do you know what people were saying when asking voters to sign petition?
Defamation: A town council member can sue a citizen for defamation (libel or slander) if the citizen makes false statements of fact that harm the council member’s reputation.
“Actual Malice” Standard: However, due to their status as public officials, a town council member must prove that the defamatory statement was made with “actual malice”. This means they must show the citizen either knew the statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for its truthfulness.
Do you understand the recall laws in Florida? If you did, you would know this petition adhered to the law, period. Do some homework then report back. This suit will never hold up in court. It’s a joke frankly. The attorney collects their fees and the recall moves forward. This recall can’t be stopped
No matter who doesn’t like it.
Oh this is getting good 👍… I’m going to need more popcorn.