UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

PENSACOLA DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

ex rel. ROBERT V. SMITH,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No. 3:20cv3678/MCR/EMT

JAY A. ODOM and OKALOOSA COUNTY,

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS,

Defendants.

______________________________________/

DEFENDANT JAY A. ODOM’S MOTION TO DISMISS 

Comes now, Defendant Jay A. Odom (“Odom”), by and through his attorneys 

of record, and moves this Court, pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 

12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), for an order dismissing Relator Robert V. Smith’s (“Relator”)

Complaint, ECF No. 1, in its entirety, with prejudice, for the following reasons:

1. Relator’s claims are prohibited by the FCA’s public disclosure bar 

because Relator relies solely on publicly disclosed information, and he 

is not an original source of any allegations in the Complaint.

2. The claims or submissions to the United States were not false or

material as a matter of law, and, moreover, the United States knew or 

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should have known of the facts underlying Relator’s Complaint prior 

to approving the grants at issue.

3. Relator has failed to state a claim with sufficient particularity under 

Rule 9(b), including by failing to state how the United States was 

misled by any alleged false claim or submission.

4. Relator’s Complaint is an impermissible shotgun pleading that fails to 

properly state which allegations of fact support each FCA claim against 

each Defendant as required by law. 

5. As to Count II for violation of the Florida FCA, neither Relator nor the 

United States has standing to bring a claim, without notice to or without 

naming the State of Florida as the party in interest.

In addition, Defendant respectfully requests an award of attorneys’ fees in favor of 

Odom, as required by 31 U.S.C. § 3730(d)(4). In support of this Motion, Odom 

relies upon the memorandum of law, filed herewith.

Dated: February 12, 2021.

Respectfully Submitted,

Counsel for Jay A. Odom

A. Benjamin Gordon

A. Benjamin Gordon, III

Florida Bar No. 528617

AnchorsGordon, P.A.

2113 Lewis Turner Blvd., Suite 100

Fort Walton Beach, Florida 32547

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Phone: (850) 863-1974

Fax: (850) 863-1591

Email: bgordon@anchorsgordon.com

cyndi@anchorsgordon.com 

and 

By: /s/ Nathaniel Hunt 

Peter J. Kirsch

Nathaniel Hunt

Sarah Wilbanks

KAPLAN KIRSCH & ROCKWELL LLP

1675 Broadway, Suite 2300

Denver, CO 80202

(303) 825-7000

(303) 825-7005 Facsimile

pkirsch@kaplankirsch.com

swilbanks@kaplankirsch.com

nhunt@kaplankirsch.com 

Co-counsel for Defendant Jay Odom

Appearing Pro Hac Vice

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I CERTIFY that a that a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been 

electronically filed on the CM/ECF system for the Northern District of Florida, 

which will send notification of such filing to the following attorneys of record: 

Michael Schofield and Amelia Beard, Clark Partington, 125 East Intendencia Street, 

Pensacola, Florida 32591-3010, and Elizabeth Billhimer, Clark Partington, 4100 

Legendary Drive, Suite 200, Destin, Florida 32541, attorneys for Relator; and to 

Lynn Hoshihara, Nabors Giblin & Nickerson, P.A., 1500 Mahan Drive, Suite 200, 

Tallahassee, Florida 32308, attorneys for Okaloosa County, and to David M. 

Sobotkin, U.S. Department of Justice, Commercial Litigation Branch, 175 N. Street, 

NE, Washington, DC 20002, attorney for the United States of America, this 12th

day of February, 2021.

A. Benjamin Gordon

A. Benjamin Gordon, III

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Florida Bar No. 528617

AnchorsGordon, P.A.

2113 Lewis Turner Blvd., Suite 100

Fort Walton Beach, Florida 32547

Phone: (850) 863-1974

Fax: (850) 863-1591

Email: bgordon@anchorsgordon.com

cyndi@anchorsgordon.com 

and 

By: /s/ Nathaniel Hunt 

Peter J. Kirsch

Nathaniel Hunt

Sarah Wilbanks

KAPLAN KIRSCH & ROCKWELL LLP

1675 Broadway, Suite 2300

Denver, CO 80202

(303) 825-7000

(303) 825-7005 Facsimile

pkirsch@kaplankirsch.com

swilbanks@kaplankirsch.com

nhunt@kaplankirsch.com 

Co-counsel for Defendant Jay Odom

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