City wins appeal over attorney's fees

HIGH SPRINGS – After settling a lawsuit, the City of High Springs will not have to pay the attorney’s fees for the winning party.

Ross Ambrose sued High Springs last year, challenging a charter amendment the city commission passed. Commissioners Bob Barnas and Linda Gestrin supported a referendum that would establish a $1 million borrowing limit for the city. When the motion passed, however, the limit was changed to $2 million at the last minute, a departure from what was advertised prior to the meeting.

Ambrose sued both under Florida’s “Sunshine Law,” which requires state and local governments to maintain transparency to the public, and also under another statute requiring detailed notice for the passage of ordinances. The City of High Springs eventually settled, after the current city attorney and the city's insurance counsel agreed the commission violated the law by making substantial changes to the amendment that was advertised, said Paul Regensdorf, who worked as co-council for Ambrose with Linda Rice Chapman as the lead council.

“The city rolled over and confessed error,” Regensdorf said.

Under Florida Statute Chapter 286, there are provisions for recovering attorney’s fees if a plaintiff wins a lawsuit over a violation of the Sunshine Law.

Regensdorf estimated the total fees were in the range of $75,000 to $100,000.

“We’ve spent a lot of time and money on this,” he said.

The purpose of the Sunshine Law awarding attorney’s fees is to encourage the public to challenge state and local governments when they don’t follow the law, Regensdorf said.

The original trial to recover the fees ended with Ambrose being denied fees, despite his victory on the illegality of the city's actions. He then brought it to the appeals court, which handed down its decision last week.

Judge Stanley Griffis, of the Alachua Circuit Court, had originally ruled against Ambrose recovering the fees. The First District Court of Appeals agreed with the lower court,but did not write an opinion explaining its reasons.

Linda Rice Chapman, Ambrose’s lead council during the original lawsuit against the city, said that although there wasn’t a lot of legal standing for recovering attorney’s fees, it is good policy to award them.

“Otherwise, the little man could never have his voice heard,” she said.

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