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Home My Public Portal AboutPRR 17-2613 Renee Basel From:Jonathan O'Boyle <jonathanroboyle@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, December 4, 2017 2:15 PM To:Renee Basel; Trey Nazzaro; Jonathan O'Boyle; Jonathan O'Boyle Subject:Re: GS #2600 (Public Records Request for Litigation Resuming on Monday, November 20, 2017 (1)) Dear Custodian, I wanted to follow up on request 2600, 2604, and 2605. I haven't heard anything back from the Town on these matters in quite some time and I would like to give a 5-day notice under the new 119.12 (2017) statute for compliance. In addition, I am under the impression that someone made a request for records showing the Town's bills for the matters which started as case 2014CA004474 and which were severed at the trial level and consolidated at the appellate court. Is that request and response available online? If not, I would like to request copies of invoices and/or pay stubs the Town has paid for legal services rendered in 2014CA004474, 2016ca005437, and the consolidated appeal number 4D16-3386. Specifically, I wanted to know how much the Town has spent in that litigation. If I could just get a number I would be satisfied, but if giving an answer to that question is something the Town wishes to avoid, I would like electronic copies of the invoices showing monies spend on those cases emailed to me at this address. Thank you ever so kindly. On Fri, Nov 17, 2017 at 2:21 PM, Renee Basel <RBasel@gulf-stream.org> wrote: Good afternoon, Jonathan: See attached correspondence. Sincerely, Reneé Rowan Basel Executive Administrative Assistant Town of Gulf Stream 100 Sea Road Gulf Stream FL 33483 561.276.5116 1 561.737.0188-fax www.gulf-stream.org Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. Florida has a very broad public records law. Written communications regarding Town of Gulf Stream business are public records available to the public upon request. Your e-mail communications are therefore subject to public disclosure. Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing. -- Jonathan O’Boyle, Esq., LLM. The O’Boyle Law Firm, P.C. www.oboylelawfirm.com joboyle@oboylelawfirm.com Pennsylvania Office 1001 Broad St. Johnstown, PA 15906 Tel: 814-535-5175 Fax: 215-893-3641 New Jersey Office 10 Grove St. Haddonfield, NJ 08033 2 Tel: 814-535-5175 Fax: 215-893-3641 Florida Office 1286 West Newport Center Drive Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 Office: 954-570-3533 Fax: 754-212-2444 IRS Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this communication, unless expressly stated otherwise, was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding tax-related penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any tax-related matter(s) addressed herein. =========================================================== NOTICE TO RECIPIENT: THIS E-MAIL IS MEANT FOR ONLY THE INTENDED RECIPIENT OF THE TRANSMISSION, AND MAY BE A COMMUNICATION PRIVILEGED BY LAW. IF YOU RECEIVED THIS E- MAIL IN ERROR, ANY REVIEW, USE, DISSEMINATION, DISTRIBUTION, OR COPYING OF THIS E-MAIL IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. PLEASE NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY OF THE ERROR BY RETURN E-MAIL AND PLEASE DELETE THIS MESSAGE FROM YOUR SYSTEM. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR COOPERATION. 3 TOWN OF GULF STREAM PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA Delivered via e-mail December 5, 2017 Jonathan O’Boyle [mail to: jonathanroboyle@gmail.com] Re: GS #2613 (Town bills) Dear Jonathan O’Boyle [mail to: jonathanroboyle@gmail.com]: I am under the impression that someone made a request for records showing the Town's bills for the matters which started as case 2014CA004474 and which were severed at the trial level and consolidated at the appellate court. Is that request and response available online? If not, I would like to request copies of invoices and/or pay stubs the Town has paid for legal services rendered in 2014CA004474, 2016ca005437, and the consolidated appeal number 4D16-3386. The Town of Gulf Stream has received your public records request dated December 4, 2017. You should be able to view your original request at the following link: http://www2.gulf-stream.org/weblink/0/doc/114340/Page1.aspx The records that you seek can be found at the following link: http://www2.gulf-stream.org/weblink/0/doc/113879/Page1.aspx We consider this request closed. Sincerely, Reneé Rowan Basel As requested by Rita Taylor Town Clerk, Custodian of the Records Renee Basel From:Jonathan O'Boyle <jonathanroboyle@gmail.com> Sent:Tuesday, December 5, 2017 1:39 PM To:Renee Basel; Trey Nazzaro; Jonathan O'Boyle; Jonathan O'Boyle Subject:Re: GS #2613 (Town bills) Thanks Renee, but I was looking just for the invoices or check stubs not the actual line-item bills. You see, I am trying to figure out the amount spent on prosecuting the 4474 case through its separation and appeal. I want to be able to answer the following question, "The Town has spent $___ on 4474 - the severed case and the appeals to date." The invoices or checks should be in the Town's records and should not require any attorney assistance since I am looking for the memorizations of what the Town paid the attorneys. On Tue, Dec 5, 2017 at 12:56 PM, Renee Basel <RBasel@gulf-stream.org> wrote: Good afternoon, Jonathan: See attached correspondence. Sincerely, Reneé Rowan Basel Executive Administrative Assistant Town of Gulf Stream 100 Sea Road Gulf Stream FL 33483 561.276.5116 561.737.0188-fax www.gulf-stream.org Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. Florida has a very broad public records law. Written communications regarding Town of Gulf Stream business are public records available to the public upon request. Your e-mail 1 communications are therefore subject to public disclosure. Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing. -- Jonathan O’Boyle, Esq., LLM. The O’Boyle Law Firm, P.C. www.oboylelawfirm.com joboyle@oboylelawfirm.com Pennsylvania Office 1001 Broad St. Johnstown, PA 15906 Tel: 814-535-5175 Fax: 215-893-3641 New Jersey Office 10 Grove St. Haddonfield, NJ 08033 Tel: 814-535-5175 Fax: 215-893-3641 Florida Office 1286 West Newport Center Drive 2 Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 Office: 954-570-3533 Fax: 754-212-2444 IRS Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this communication, unless expressly stated otherwise, was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding tax-related penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any tax-related matter(s) addressed herein. =========================================================== NOTICE TO RECIPIENT: THIS E-MAIL IS MEANT FOR ONLY THE INTENDED RECIPIENT OF THE TRANSMISSION, AND MAY BE A COMMUNICATION PRIVILEGED BY LAW. IF YOU RECEIVED THIS E- MAIL IN ERROR, ANY REVIEW, USE, DISSEMINATION, DISTRIBUTION, OR COPYING OF THIS E-MAIL IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. PLEASE NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY OF THE ERROR BY RETURN E-MAIL AND PLEASE DELETE THIS MESSAGE FROM YOUR SYSTEM. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR COOPERATION. 3 TOWN OF GULF STREAM PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA Delivered via e-mail December 14, 2017 Jonathan O’Boyle [mail to: jonathanroboyle@gmail.com] Re: GS #2613 (Town bills) Dear Jonathan O’Boyle [mail to: jonathanroboyle@gmail.com]: I am under the impression that someone made a request for records showing the Town's bills for the matters which started as case 2014CA004474 and which were severed at the trial l evel and consolidated at the appellate court. Is that request and response available online? If not, I would like to request copies of invoices and/or pay stubs the Town has paid for legal services rendered in 2014CA004474, 2016ca005437, and the consolidated appeal number 4D16-3386. The Town of Gulf Stream has received your public records request dated December 4, 2017. You should be able to view your original request at the following link: http://www2.gulf-stream.org/weblink/0/doc/114340/Page1.aspx The public records request and response to which you referred were provided to you, fulfilling this request. For your convenience, that request and the Town’s response can be found at the following link: http://www2.gulf-stream.org/weblink/0/doc/113879/Page1.aspx On December 5, 2017, we received a follow-up e-mail from you regarding this request: I was looking just for the invoices or check stubs not the actual line-item bills. You see, I am trying to figure out the amount spent on prosecuting the 4474 case through its separation and appeal. I want to be able to answer the following question, "The Town has spent $___ on 4474 - the severed case and the appeals to date." The invoices or checks should be in the Town's records and should not require any attorney assistance since I am looking for the memorizations of what the Town paid the attorneys. The statutory obligation of the custodian of public records is to provide access to, or copies of, public records “at any reasonable time, under reasonable conditions, and under supervision by the custodian of the public records” provided that the required fees are paid. Section 119.07 (1) (a) and (4), F.S. However, a custodian is not required to give out information from the records of his or her office. AGO 80-57. The Town notes that during the time period relevant to your request, the Town was defending approximately 40 public records lawsuits. Your request for records that indicate how much the Town has spent in legal fees in one particular case, handled by multiple law firms, cannot be answered with records alone absent producing an attorney or other party to answer questions regarding those records. The Public Records Act does not require a town to produce an employee, such as the financial officer, to answer questions regarding the financial records of the town. AGO 92-38. Cf. In re Report of the Supreme Court Workgroup on Public Records, 825 So. 2d 889, 898 (Fla. 2002) (the custodian of judicial records “is required to provide access to, or copies of, records but is not required either to provide information from records or to create new records in response to a request”). We consider this request closed. Sincerely, Reneé Rowan Basel As requested by Rita Taylor Town Clerk, Custodian of the Records Renee Basel From:Jonathan O'Boyle <jonathanroboyle@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, December 18, 2017 3:23 PM To:Renee Basel; Trey Nazzaro; Jonathan O'Boyle; Jonathan O'Boyle Subject:Re: GS #2613 (Town bills) Greetings Renee, two things. (1) what is my total outstanding Balance for records with the Town. I was reviewing a letter the Town sent about needing to provide the exact charge. I would like to do this by check if possible. I would normally pick up the phone to try and get a sense but under the circumstances, I cannot as I have a well-founded fear of the Town accusing a violation of the Florida Rules of Professional Conduct. As for the Town Bills Request 2613 - I still think there is confusion. When the Attorney's bill, they submit their billable hours along with and invoice that contains a certain balance to be paid for work. This occurs each month (to my understanding). I would like those invoices. I am not interested in the line-item bills or billing entries of the attorney's work because they may require redactions. To the extent there is no separate "invoice" page and the amount paid is only reflected on line-item entries that contain a description for the work performed, I would be interested in an estimate where all of the "description" material is categorically redacted so that the hours spent and cost information is displayed. Alternatively, if the Town has a record showing the running budget of each litigation, that record would gladly satisfy my request and no further work need be done. On Thu, Dec 14, 2017 at 1:22 PM, Renee Basel <RBasel@gulf-stream.org> wrote: Good afternoon, Jonathan: See attached correspondence. Sincerely, Reneé Rowan Basel Executive Administrative Assistant Town of Gulf Stream 100 Sea Road Gulf Stream FL 33483 561.276.5116 1 561.737.0188-fax www.gulf-stream.org Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. Florida has a very broad public records law. Written communications regarding Town of Gulf Stream business are public records available to the public upon request. Your e-mail communications are therefore subject to public disclosure. Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing. -- Jonathan O’Boyle, Esq., LLM. The O’Boyle Law Firm, P.C. www.oboylelawfirm.com joboyle@oboylelawfirm.com Pennsylvania Office 1001 Broad St. Johnstown, PA 15906 Tel: 814-535-5175 Fax: 215-893-3641 New Jersey Office 10 Grove St. Haddonfield, NJ 08033 2 Tel: 814-535-5175 Fax: 215-893-3641 Florida Office 1286 West Newport Center Drive Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 Office: 954-570-3533 Fax: 754-212-2444 IRS Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this communication, unless expressly stated otherwise, was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding tax-related penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any tax-related matter(s) addressed herein. =========================================================== NOTICE TO RECIPIENT: THIS E-MAIL IS MEANT FOR ONLY THE INTENDED RECIPIENT OF THE TRANSMISSION, AND MAY BE A COMMUNICATION PRIVILEGED BY LAW. IF YOU RECEIVED THIS E- MAIL IN ERROR, ANY REVIEW, USE, DISSEMINATION, DISTRIBUTION, OR COPYING OF THIS E-MAIL IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. PLEASE NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY OF THE ERROR BY RETURN E-MAIL AND PLEASE DELETE THIS MESSAGE FROM YOUR SYSTEM. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR COOPERATION. 3