On Monday, January 18, 2021--I sat for a 6-hour deposition in the Matt Selover case.
I was subpoenaed to testify, I received a written opinion that although my truthful testimony would be damaging to the county's position that it was proper for me to sit for the deposition, and I was under oath and asked questions by multiple lawyers about this matter.
And I told the truth.
Here's what's important to know: None of what I said had any bearing on the outcome of the case, and every lawyer with a brain knows I would have NEVER been called to testify in this case had it even gone to trial. I had no relevance whatsoever; I was not a fact witness, I wasn't an expert witness, I simply had opinions based upon my knowledge of events received second hand. I never would have been called to testify in this case. Wouldn't have happened.
But I was subpoenaed, so I complied and testified.
And yes, my truthful view of the events surrounding the Matt Selover case and subsequent lawsuit differed greatly from the insurance company's lawyer, Katie Guiditis of the Lydecker-Diaz law firm.
And although I did not know it at the time, within 10 days of my deposition, attorney Katie Guiditis of the Lydecker-Diaz law firm (purportedly the attorney for the County Commission paid for by an insurance carrier that picked up this case) would produce a scathing account of my truthful testimony and share it with the county attorney's office. It was never shared with me or my counterparts for 8 months prior to the conclusion of the matter after the county settled with Matt Selover for nearly $200,000.00.
Even after the conclusion of the matter I was not aware of the existence of this memo, until a PNJ reporter called me, read portions of it to me, and asked me "what I thought of it."
I find it incredible, astonishing that Ms. Guiditis would withhold the fact that although my opinions differed from hers, my relevance (lack thereof) would preclude my testifying in any trial that might ensue. This was a huge fact to omit, leaving the casual reader of the document to believe I was the lynchpin that caused this case to settle--which is absolute rubbish and completely dishonest.
So I have now subsequently requested every document in the case referring to me by Katie Guiditis and her firm. I made this request of Charlie Peppler, deputy County Attorney.
I received a few email strings, this "memo" from the 27th of January-----and a follow-on memo from May 4th. Again--I was not aware of any of this, nor were my counterparts, until after the settlement of this lawsuit. I am disgusted with the way this was portrayed by this lawyer and her apparent desire to set me up as some sort of "boogey man" that created this problem. I am contemplating filing a bar complaint against her, that is how dissatisfied I am with the way that was handled. (Seeing the memo from May 4th may have even tilted some of the conversations and possibly even the amount of the settlement--so I have grave, continuing issues about why none of this was shared with the client, the board, prior to our final shade meeting in early June.)
I have asked "Why?" of the county attorney's office. "Why were these important documents not shared with the board, the client? " I still haven't received a satisfactory explanation.
But that is a separate issue------- that I will bring to resolution.
Meanwhile, I have received word from deputy County Attorney Peppler that the release of my doposition(s) can proceed with no redaction(s) necessary. From his email:
"Dear
Commissioner,
I reviewed your deposition
transcript and I don’t see that any redactions are necessary. I did not
review the exhibits that were shown to you during the depo, as they were not
provided to me. One of them is the Declaratory Statement made by the DoH
in the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue complaint and the other exhibits are copies of
your blogs issued on several different dates. I don’t believe these
documents would implicate any exemptions."
read my deposition transcripts here and here . It gets very interesting from page 145 onward........
It’s real obvious this was a case of Dr. Edler getting back at Matt Selover for his complaint against her.
ReplyDeleteYour deposition is relevant testimony or it wouldn't have been taken.
ReplyDeleteyou got some thin skin...
Weren’t the ECW puppets saying when the depositions are released we were going to see how guilty the paramedic was? LOL It looks the opposite to me. This is cut and dry revenge and the county should of paid the paramedic more than 200k
ReplyDeleteYou overstepped your bounds and intervened in an HR issue, then proceeded to publicly announce your support of the employee who was being reprimanded. You spoke openly of your support of him at every BOCC meeting I've viewed where the subject was brought up. You tanked any chance the county had of letting the proper process unfold, the issue be investigated and an independent, unbiased and fair result being reached. By doing so, you forced this into settlement and cost the insurer $200K. You like to tout that it is only insurance money, but responsible adults understand that this will end up costing us at renewal time when our premiums increase for the foreseeable future. Much like Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, this is YOUR MESS, quit trying to spin it, it's not working, you own it.
ReplyDelete12:06 I disagree with you. He did the right thing by speaking up against an innocent man being railroaded. I’m glad there’s at least someone in the county that will stand up for what’s right.
DeleteIt was thought people were ignorant due to lack of access to information.
ReplyDeleteAugust 12, 21 12:06's statement
Proves that is not always the case.
Commissioner Bergosh, You are a good, thoughtful reasonable man.
Merci, Monsieur
le serveur en chef était arrogant, et un préjudice
One more and it's off topic, so fine if you don't publish it.
ReplyDeleteBriefly
With the FDA approval of the Pfizer, I think it leads the way for mandates.
I know some believe in small government and on and on and on. I used to support DeSantis, by trying not to lock down.
I know of a supreme court case in 1905 in which it was ruled the government does have the responsibility to protect public health. I don't know what happened after that, but the vaccine refusals are just idiotic. It had to do with smallpox. I know you know that history, as well as polio.
Vaccines work and masks stop the spread.
We really need to focus on this and not 401a and other things that will work themselves out.
Seriously with the more information out there on the internet, people are actually more susceptible to false info and bias.
https://hbr.org/2021/08/how-to-work-with-someone-who-creates-unnecessary-conflict
ReplyDelete"Conflict at work comes in many forms. Good conflict, the kind that is healthy, pushes us to be better as people and communities. Most organizations need more good conflict, not less. But sometimes, conflict can become malignant. It hijacks precious time, trust, and energy, turning allies against each other and distorting reality. This is what’s known as “high conflict,” the kind that takes on a life of its own, and eventually, leaves almost everyone worse off.
What causes high conflict? I spent four years investigating this question, following people who were stuck in all kinds of miserable feuds, personal and professional. One pattern, common to every instance I’ve seen, is the presence of conflict entrepreneurs. These are people who inflame conflict for their own ends. Sometimes they do this for profit, but more often for attention or power. They don’t exist in every organization, but, according to my research, they seem to be more common in certain workplaces, such as hospitals, universities, and political or advocacy organizations."
We have a few of these around..^^^
FYI Douglas and Jacqueline put Alex up to posting the latest Marlette Cartoon on ECW. Their campaign continues,
ReplyDelete12:06--Put down the crack pipe, Perry Mason you ain't. I got dragged into this after all the events had occurred. I only took interest when this employee was railroaded and his due process was stepped all over--costing him money, his health, and ultimately, his job. And the lawyers for the insurance company realized this very quickly and that's why they strenuously objected to taking this to trial and ultimately advised for the settlement. Not because Jeff Bergosh gave opinions. Nope. Nice try. My opinions on this are mine only, based upon my research into the relevant issues and facts of this case that all happened way before I got involved. And that's why I would have never testified in this case---had it actually not settled and gone to trial. And every lawyer and most that understand the justice system and have at least half a brain know this. Read some source materials, read the transcripts carefully, and figure out the timeline--otherwise you sound glib, like a lobotomized meat-puppet on Escambia Hate Watch Facebook or one of the bitter former county employees that allowed this to happen to Mr. Selover. Take comfort in this though, the correct outcome happened to fix the wrongdoing. And most of the employees associated with this stunning failure to follow policy are gone, and we now have a professional team of doctors from University of Florida providing Medical Director duties professionally for our county. We are headed in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteIf the county’s only defense was to lie, cover up, deny access to information, not supply proof of what they were asserting, then they did not have a case whatsoever. Thanks for doing the right thing.
ReplyDeleteAugust 23, 2021 at 9:41 PM
ReplyDeleteAt least they are getting a RV park nearby.
So much for “toning down the rhetoric”. I guess like every other liberal politicians, your policy is to say one thing and do another. Just like the California Elite for whom a mask mandate doesn’t apply, you plead for a return to civility and then name call the person making an opposing point. One standard for the peons and another for the elite class. It has been my experience that when someone has to resort to such tactics, their case is weak.
ReplyDeleteHAHAHA
ReplyDeleteSome people hate it when they don't get their way and they are wrong.
Here's a crypto dime ($$$$$)
Go call or write Marlette, maybe he will draw another cartoon or publish an editorial for you all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHOeyLKYFqg
send out an SOS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY2bBzz5kwc