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Filing # 186405215 E-Filed 11/17/2023 04:06:11 PM
IN CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA
PAUL GAGLIANO
Plaintiff,
v. CASE NO. 23-943-CO
CITY OF CLEARWATER, a Municipality,
FRANK HIBBARD, BRIAN AUNGST Sr.,
MARK BUNKER, KATHLEEN BECKMAN,
DAVID ALLBRITTON, LINA TEIXEIRA,
JENNIFER POIRRIER, ERIC GANDY
and DAVID MARGOLIS .
Defendants.
PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE AMENDED COMPLAINT
Plaintiff Paul Gagliano respectfully moves the Court for leave to file an Amended Complaint,
which is appended hereto as Attachment A, and in support thereof states the following;
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***ELECTRONICALLY FILED 11/17/2023 04:06:07 PM: KEN BURKE, CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT, PINELLAS COUNTY***
I. BACKGROUND
Plaintiff brought this action on February 3, 2023 alleging violations of the Florida Statutes
Section 286.011, the ‘Florida Sunshine Law’. The Court denied Defendants’ Motion for
Summary Judgment and granted leave for Plaintiff to file an amended complaint at a hearing on
May 17, 2023.
The amendment sought in the Amended Complaint is limited to the related counts of Plaintiff’s
causes of action and includes additional related Defendants, as summarized below:
1. Additional City employees newly appointed City Manager Jennifer Poirreier, Director of
Marine and Aviation Eric Gandy, and newly appointed Mayor Brian Aungst Sr. have been added
as Defendants.
2. Division of the existing Clearwater Airpark RFP Sunshine Law violations into three related
and sequential acts.
3. Supplementing the original claim of civil conspiracy which is currently alleged in Count IV of
the Complaint (against all Defendants), with additional related theories of civil conspiracy.
4. Provide additional Exhibits, Citations and Affidavits in support of the overarching claim of
violations of the Sunshine Law and related underlying acts by Defendants.
II. ARGUMENT
4. “It is well settled that leave to amend should be freely granted when justice requires, and
public policy favors resolving cases on their merits.” Drish v. Bos, 298 So. 3d 722, 723 (Fla. 2d
DCA 2020); see Fla. R. Civ. P 1.190(a). “[E]specially prior to trial,” courts liberally allow
litigants to amend their pleadings. Drish at 723-24 (quoting Morgan v. Bank of New York
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Mellon, 200 So. 3d 792, 795 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016)). Accordingly, “all doubts should be resolved
in favor of allowing the amendment and refusal to do so generally constitutes an abuse of
discretion unless it clearly appears that [1] allowing the amendment would prejudice the
opposing party, [2] the privilege to amend has been abused, or [3] amendment would be futile.”
Drish at 724 (quoting Saidi v. Saqr, 207 So. 3d 991, 992 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016).
5. In light of the foregoing, Plaintiff should be granted leave to file its Amended Complaint.
Plaintiff’s proposed amendment would in no way prejudice Defendants and would allow the
Case to proceed without undue delay. The Amended Complaint includes the same factual
allegations of Sunshine Law violations as the Original Complaint.
6. As summarized above, the purpose of the amendment is to adjust Plaintiff’s causes of action
into three related and consecutive acts, and add responsible City officials. Plaintiff seeks to
separate the two existing counts into three separate Sunshine Law violations and the fourth,
(previously the second) Florida Civil Conspiracy. Plaintiff also seeks to supplement the existing
claim of civil conspiracy to include new theories all based on the same underlying factual
allegations. Finally, Plaintiff wishes to speak to the definition(s) of the “ordinary reasonable
person” and it’s application under Florida law. Thus, the proposed amendment would add
nothing fundamentally new to the issues involved in this case. Moreover, the amendment is
sought well in advance of trial, currently unscheduled, counseling in favor of granting leave to
amend.
7. Plaintiff has not abused the privilege to amend. He has filed the Amended Complaint
primarily for the purpose of adding three new Defendants, (A) newly promoted assistant City
Manager Jennifer Poirreier replacing Manager Jon Jennings, (B) former Deputy Chief of Police ,
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then Director of Marine and Aviation Eric Gandy replacing Director Ed Chesney and now Chief
of Police. Newly appointed former Mayor Brian Aungst Sr. replaced resigned previous Mayor
Frank Hibbard (C) and both are now defendants as these violations occurred during both
Mayors’ tenures. The Amended Motion now classifies Defendants violations of the Sunshine
Law(s), all concerning the Clearwater Airpark action, into three sequential acts. The Plaintiff
also answers with specificity questions raised by Defendants in their answer to the original
complaint. By filing this Motion, Plaintiff seeks the Court’s leave for the first time to make
amendments to the original complaint.
8. Finally, the proposed amendment would not be futile. The Amended Complaint alleges all
claims from the original Complaint as described above, with respect to which the Court has
denied Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. The new claims are additional related
Sunshine Law violations, but they are based on the same factual allegations underlying the
existing claims, which survived Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. There are no
reasons to find that the amendment would be futile, let alone any clear showing of futility.
III. CONCLUSION
9. For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiff respectfully requests the entry of an Order granting
Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File the Amended Complaint.
Dated: November 17, 2023
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Paul Gagliano
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the forgoing was sent by email on November 17,
2023 to Defendants: City of Clearwater, Frank Hibbard, Brian Aungst Sr, Mark Bunker,
Kathleen Beckman, David Allbritton, Lina Teixeira, Jennifer Poirrier, Eric Gandy and David
Margolis at myclearwater.com
s/ Paul Gagliano
PAUL GAGLIANO, Plaintiff Pro Se
PO Box 530395
St Petersburg, FL 33747
(727) 360-7614
gagliano.paul172@gmail.com
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Filing # 186405215 E-Filed 11/17/2023 04:06:11 PM IN CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA PAUL GAGLIANO Plaintiff, v. CASE NO. 23-943-CO CITY OF CLEARWATER, a Municipality, FRANK HIBBARD, BRIAN AUNGST Sr., MARK BUNKER, KATHLEEN BECKMAN, DAVID ALLBRITTON, LINA TEIXEIRA, JENNIFER POIRRIER, ERIC GANDY and DAVID MARGOLIS . Defendants. PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE AMENDED COMPLAINT Plaintiff Paul Gagliano respectfully moves the Court for leave to file an Amended Complaint, which is appended hereto as Attachment A, and in support thereof states the following; 1 ***ELECTRONICALLY FILED 11/17/2023 04:06:07 PM: KEN BURKE, CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT, PINELLAS COUNTY*** I. BACKGROUND Plaintiff brought this action on February 3, 2023 alleging violations of the Florida Statutes Section 286.011, the ‘Florida Sunshine Law’. The Court denied Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment and granted leave for Plaintiff to file an amended complaint at a hearing on May 17, 2023. The amendment sought in the Amended Complaint is limited to the related counts of Plaintiff’s causes of action and includes additional related Defendants, as summarized below: 1. Additional City employees newly appointed City Manager Jennifer Poirreier, Director of Marine and Aviation Eric Gandy, and newly appointed Mayor Brian Aungst Sr. have been added as Defendants. 2. Division of the existing Clearwater Airpark RFP Sunshine Law violations into three related and sequential acts. 3. Supplementing the original claim of civil conspiracy which is currently alleged in Count IV of the Complaint (against all Defendants), with additional related theories of civil conspiracy. 4. Provide additional Exhibits, Citations and Affidavits in support of the overarching claim of violations of the Sunshine Law and related underlying acts by Defendants. II. ARGUMENT 4. “It is well settled that leave to amend should be freely granted when justice requires, and public policy favors resolving cases on their merits.” Drish v. Bos, 298 So. 3d 722, 723 (Fla. 2d DCA 2020); see Fla. R. Civ. P 1.190(a). “[E]specially prior to trial,” courts liberally allow litigants to amend their pleadings. Drish at 723-24 (quoting Morgan v. Bank of New York 2 Mellon, 200 So. 3d 792, 795 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016)). Accordingly, “all doubts should be resolved in favor of allowing the amendment and refusal to do so generally constitutes an abuse of discretion unless it clearly appears that [1] allowing the amendment would prejudice the opposing party, [2] the privilege to amend has been abused, or [3] amendment would be futile.” Drish at 724 (quoting Saidi v. Saqr, 207 So. 3d 991, 992 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016). 5. In light of the foregoing, Plaintiff should be granted leave to file its Amended Complaint. Plaintiff’s proposed amendment would in no way prejudice Defendants and would allow the Case to proceed without undue delay. The Amended Complaint includes the same factual allegations of Sunshine Law violations as the Original Complaint. 6. As summarized above, the purpose of the amendment is to adjust Plaintiff’s causes of action into three related and consecutive acts, and add responsible City officials. Plaintiff seeks to separate the two existing counts into three separate Sunshine Law violations and the fourth, (previously the second) Florida Civil Conspiracy. Plaintiff also seeks to supplement the existing claim of civil conspiracy to include new theories all based on the same underlying factual allegations. Finally, Plaintiff wishes to speak to the definition(s) of the “ordinary reasonable person” and it’s application under Florida law. Thus, the proposed amendment would add nothing fundamentally new to the issues involved in this case. Moreover, the amendment is sought well in advance of trial, currently unscheduled, counseling in favor of granting leave to amend. 7. Plaintiff has not abused the privilege to amend. He has filed the Amended Complaint primarily for the purpose of adding three new Defendants, (A) newly promoted assistant City Manager Jennifer Poirreier replacing Manager Jon Jennings, (B) former Deputy Chief of Police , 3 then Director of Marine and Aviation Eric Gandy replacing Director Ed Chesney and now Chief of Police. Newly appointed former Mayor Brian Aungst Sr. replaced resigned previous Mayor Frank Hibbard (C) and both are now defendants as these violations occurred during both Mayors’ tenures. The Amended Motion now classifies Defendants violations of the Sunshine Law(s), all concerning the Clearwater Airpark action, into three sequential acts. The Plaintiff also answers with specificity questions raised by Defendants in their answer to the original complaint. By filing this Motion, Plaintiff seeks the Court’s leave for the first time to make amendments to the original complaint. 8. Finally, the proposed amendment would not be futile. The Amended Complaint alleges all claims from the original Complaint as described above, with respect to which the Court has denied Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. The new claims are additional related Sunshine Law violations, but they are based on the same factual allegations underlying the existing claims, which survived Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. There are no reasons to find that the amendment would be futile, let alone any clear showing of futility. III. CONCLUSION 9. For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiff respectfully requests the entry of an Order granting Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File the Amended Complaint. Dated: November 17, 2023 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Paul Gagliano 4 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the forgoing was sent by email on November 17, 2023 to Defendants: City of Clearwater, Frank Hibbard, Brian Aungst Sr, Mark Bunker, Kathleen Beckman, David Allbritton, Lina Teixeira, Jennifer Poirrier, Eric Gandy and David Margolis at myclearwater.com s/ Paul Gagliano PAUL GAGLIANO, Plaintiff Pro Se PO Box 530395 St Petersburg, FL 33747 (727) 360-7614 gagliano.paul172@gmail.com 5