In a court hearing Tuesday, a lawyer for Florida’s environmental agency argued that the state employee who was fired after leaking plans to develop nine state parks in 2024 doesn’t qualify for whistleblower protections.
Ed Lombard, an attorney representing the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, argued that former parks employee James Gaddis simply “disagreed with a policy direction that the agency was taking,” but that doesn’t mean the state was breaking any laws.
In August 2024, Gaddis wrote an anonymous memo, later obtained by the Tampa Bay Times, that detailed how the state was planning to build golf courses and hotels in state parks from Miami to the Panhandle. The revelations sparked bipartisan condemnation of the plans and statewide protests before Gov. Ron DeSantis reversed course.
Gaddis was then fired after he admitted to authoring the memo, leading him to sue the agency for retaliation.
The state argued Tuesday that because the memo was anonymous, that also disqualified Gaddis from whistleblower protections.
State law lays out specific requirements for whistleblower cases, including that they disclose information in a “signed complaint” or that they submit concerns to a supervisor or inspector general.
Leon County Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey dismissed Gaddis’ complaint, but said his lawyers could refile it to address legal issues raised by the environmental agency within 30 days.
Katherine Viker, a lawyer defending Gaddis, said they would work on a...
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