Former Mayor Ray Murphy and former Town Council member Bill Veach now have 10 days to appeal Judge Keith Kyle’s ruling. On Monday Kyle ruled that the defamation suit against Murphy and Veach filed by Karen Woodson and John King can move forward.
Woodson and King filed the lawsuit over the recall election last year. Kyle warned both sides that if the case did go to trial both sides would wind up paying tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. A nearly 3-hour hearing to argue the motion to dismiss was held earlier this month.
Woodson and King allege Murphy and Veach, as co-chairs of the recall committee, defamed them when they claimed they violated Florida’s Sunshine Law, accepted gifts from developers who had business before the council, and instructed town staff to fire employees. While proof was not needed for those allegations to appear on a recall ballot, Woodson and King chose the defamation lawsuit route to fight what they are saying were lies about them. Because, they say, the allegations are lies, Veach and Murphy damaged their reputations in the community.
The bar is high to prove defamation, especially when it involves elected/public officials. The Fort Myers Beach community knows the recall was over development, specifically Seagate. Woodson and King’s yes vote on Seagate fueled the anger in the community but elected officials cannot be recalled over a vote taken while in office. What nobody knows is if Veach and Murphy, or any member of the recall committee, has proof of those allegations. They did not need proof to start a recall…