Lawyer seeks to intervene in long-running Ocala fire fee litigation
A month ago, local lawyer George Franjola voiced his objection to a judge allowing legal fees in a class-action suit against the City of Ocala to be taken from the hefty pool of money set aside to pay class members.
Franjola filed a three-page motion to intervene in the case. The hearing was set for Thursday at 10 a.m., but Franjola got the time wrong and was absent.
Circuit Judge Robert Hodges denied the motion. Franjola, contacted later by phone, told a Star-Banner reporter he will appeal the denial.
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Franjola said fees for plaintiff's lawyer Derek Schroth and his team should not come from the $79,282,909.44 awarded to those who paid the city's fire service fees, which the courts eventually found to be an illegal tax.
Hodges previously has ordered that the plaintiff's legal fees, costs and expenses – totaling a little more than $6.5 million – will be deducted from the nearly $80 million in the common fund.
Franjola believes he has a right to intervene in the case, and cited legal precedent to bolster his motion.
In response, Schroth noted that Franjola was the city's lead counsel for the first six years of the litigation, which included appeals and cross appeals. Franjola's representation for the city ended in June 2020, according to Schroth's filing.
Schroth noted that, under Florida Bar rules, Franjola is prohibited from intervening as a party. He also noted that, after Franjola made his argument at the May hearing that Hodges held concerning the legal fees, Franjola left and didn't return.
"He (Franjola) did not object to or rebut any of the testimony, evidence or arguments presented at the hearing," Schroth has argued.
The fire fee was challenged in September 2013. After years of litigation, the plaintiffs were successful, and the court directed the city to pay nearly $80 million to class members.
To accomplish this, the city will use $20 million from its general fund reserves and a $60 million bank loan.
Even though that fee has been eliminated, city residents now pay a new fire tax to help support fire services.
At Tuesday's city council meeting, city officials said the city website will soon have instructions and information in English and Spanish about how class members can receive their money. The first set of payments is expected to be sent some time in July.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Ocala, Florida lawyer seeks to intervene in longstanding fire fee fight
