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 RELATOR’S 

AMENDED COMPLAINT

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”)

Amended Complaint, ECF No. 33, 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 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 claims, which are premised on events prior to February 24, 

2014, are barred by the statute of limitations.

5. Relator’s Florida False Claims Act claim is barred by the public 

disclosure provision for the separate reason that Relator failed to 

disclose the information to the State of Florida prior to its public 

disclosure in the original Complaint. 

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: September 28, 2022.

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

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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: Mark

Davis, 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 28th day of September, 2022.

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

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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