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| "If we are victorious in one more such battle, we shall be utterly ruined" -King Pyrrhus of Epirus, 318-272 BC |
A ruling in Federal Court was handed down earlier this week.
It was a pyrrhic victory of epic proportion for disgraced former commissioner Doug Underhill in that he "Won" one aspect of a long brewing, long simmering and percolating case.
Yes, a judge ruled for him (Underhill) in just ONE (1) aspect of this lawsuit.
The suit was filed alleging Underhill violated the constitutional rights of constituent(s) by hiding comments and blocking comments on social media accounts he, Underhill, controlled--and the judge did side with Underhill on this.
But --even though the Judge ruled for Underhill on just this one aspect of the suit----another portion of the same ruling was simultaneously devastating to Underhill.
......Because the Judge also ruled for the plaintiff, David Bear, in the other, equally important part of the same suit-----and awarded $130, 425.50 to him (Bear) from Underhill for Underhill's failure to produce requested public records.
From the order:
"The Court previously found Bear entitled to an award of attorney’s fees against Underhill pursuant to the Florida Public Records Act, Fla. Stat. § 119.12, resulting from his failure to respond to a public records request for records within his custody. The Court also determined that Underhill may be held personally liable for those fees as the responsible “agency,” within the meaning of the statute. ...The Clerk is directed to enter final judgment in favor of Bear and against Underhill on the Public Records Act claims of Counts I and III, including an award of attorney’s fees in the amount of $130,425.50 to Bear, and final judgment in favor of Underhill and against Bear on the First Amendment claim of Count VII, and close the file."
| "If we are victorious in one more such battle, we shall be utterly ruined" -King Pyrrhus of Epirus, 318-272 BC |
