[ad_1]
Jacksonville’s Director of Boards and Commissions Garrett Dennis desires a courtroom to vacate a looming default judgment in opposition to his contracting enterprise, in search of an evidentiary listening to and explaining his delay in submitting motions.
“Defendant’s delay to file responses with the Court docket on this motion quantities to excusable neglect,” reads the 4th Judicial Circuit submitting from the defendant’s lawyer.
“As established by the Affidavit of Averrell Thompson, Esq. in help of Defendant’s Movement to Vacate Default, the failure to file any paper on this motion was as a result of size of time wanted for Defendant to accumulate the suitable authorized illustration and attributable to not understanding the authorized deadlines of litigation.”
Dennis was a two-term Metropolis Council member who chaired the Finance Committee for one yr, seemingly contradicting the declare that he didn’t perceive regulation.
The evidentiary listening to is slated for March 1, per somebody linked with this authorized motion.
At problem: an alleged failure to pay at the very least one subcontractor through his Shifting Gears development firm, which owes McCurdy-Walden, Inc. $80K for a reroof of the BCBS constructing at 532 Riverside Avenue.
Right here’s language from the plaintiff’s lawyer’s demand letter within the ongoing authorized motion that alleges the sub has been stiffed for months.
“To this point and regardless of repeated demand. Shifting Gears has failed and refused to pay McCurdy-Walden for the work it carried out. To make issues worse, we additionally perceive that Florida Blue has paid Shifting Gears in full for McCurdy-Walden’s work. Please permit this letter to function McCurdy-Walden’s demand that the whole of $77,624.00 be paid to it inside 5 enterprise days of the date of this letter.”
These aren’t the one monetary points linked with Dennis at the moment. The present senior staffer to Mayor Donna Deegan has excellent IRS liens from 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 that whole greater than $125,000.
These span his years in elected workplace on the Jacksonville Metropolis Council. The 2016, 2017 and 2020 lien notices, totaling $60,135, have been ready and signed in June 2023. The notices for the remaining years have been signed a number of days earlier than the top of final yr.
Dennis — a reside quote all through his time on Metropolis Council — has refused to touch upon any of this regardless of a number of efforts to get his take.
In the meantime, the Deegan administration is standing by him, saying these points aren’t related to his work for the town.
“It has no affect on his capability to carry out the duties of his position with the Mayor’s Workplace. We received’t be commenting additional,” spokesperson Phil Perry stated.
Perry went on to inform us Dennis wouldn’t be commenting personally both, elevating questions as to why the Mayor’s Workplace is operating interference for the political appointee’s private enterprise.
Dennis endorsed Deegan for Mayor weeks after shedding a Main for a state Home seat opened up by 2022’s redistricting.
“From sounding the alarm over the corrupt sale of JEA to his current name for extra scrutiny of taxpayer {dollars} despatched to the JAX Chamber, Council Member Garrett Dennis has been a number one voice combating for extra accountability and transparency in Metropolis Corridor,” the marketing campaign introduced.
Clearly, the combat for accountability and transparency solely goes thus far.
Submit Views: 0
[ad_2]
Source link