UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

PENSACOLA DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

ex rel. ROBERT V. SMITH,

Plaintiff,

v.

JAY A. ODOM,

OKALOOSA COUNTY, BOARD OF 

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS,

Defendants.

 /

CASE NO. 3:20-cv-3678-MCR-ZCB

OKALOOSA COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS’

NOTICE OF ADOPTING AND JOINING

DEFENDANT JAY A. ODOM’S RESPONSE IN OPPOSITION TO 

PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO AMEND THE JUDGMENT

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that Defendant, Okaloosa County Board of County 

Commissioners (the “County”), in response to Relator Robert V. Smith’s (“Relator”) 

Motion to Amend the Judgment, ECF No. 77, granting Defendants’ Motion to 

Dismiss and dismissing the Amended Complaint with prejudice, ECF No. 76, hereby 

adopts and joins in the Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion to Amend the 

Judgment filed by Defendant Jay A. Odom (“Odom”), ECF No. 78.

On March 12, 2021, Relator filed a qui tam Amended Complaint alleging that 

Defendants Odom and the County violated the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729–

Case 3:20-cv-03678-MCR-ZCB Document 79 Filed 07/31/23 Page 1 of 6
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3730, and the Florida False Claims Act, Fla. Stat. § 68.081, et seq. The allegations 

in the Amended Complaint were made against both Odom and the County and were

based on the same set of facts.

On June 22, 2023, the Court dismissed Relator’s Amended Complaint with 

prejudice. ECF No. 76. Relator filed a Motion to Amend the Judgment on July 20, 

2023, ECF No. 77, and Odom responded in opposition to Relator’s motion on July 

31, 2023, ECF No. 78. Asthe Court’s dismissal applied to claims against both Odom 

and the County, arguments raised in Odom’s Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs’

Motion to Amend the Judgment apply equally to the County.

For the reasons stated in Odom’s Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion 

to Amend the Judgment, ECF No. 78, the County requests that the Court deny 

Relator’s Motion to Amend the Judgment.

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Respectfully submitted, 

/s/ Matthew R. Shaud

GREGORY T. STEWART

Florida Bar No. 203718

LYNN M. HOSHIHARA

Florida Bar No. 41194

KERRY A. PARSONS

Florida Bar No. 91919

MATTHEW R. SHAUD

Florida Bar No. 122252

Nabors, Giblin & Nickerson, P.A.

1500 Mahan Drive, Suite 200

Tallahassee, Florida 32308

(850) 224-4070

(850) 224-4073 (Facsimile)

gstewart@ngnlaw.com

lhoshihara@ngnlaw.com

kparsons@ngnlaw.com

mshaud@ngnlaw.com

legal-admin@ngnlaw.com

COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT

OKALOOSA COUNTY, BOARD 

OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Case 3:20-cv-03678-MCR-ZCB Document 79 Filed 07/31/23 Page 3 of 6
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

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

electronically filed with the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida, via the 

CM/ECF system, which will also serve a copy to all counsel of record, on this 31st

day of July, 2023.

DAVID M. SOBOTKIN, ESQUIRE

JAMIE ANN YAVELBERG, ESQUIRE

SARA MCLEAN, ESQUIRE

U.S. Department of Justice

Civil Division, Fraud Section

Post Office Box 261

Ben Franklin Station

Washington, D.C. 20044

(202) 353-1291

david.m.sobotkin@usdoj.gov

ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

CHRISTOPHER A. KNIGHT

Assistant Attorney General

Department of Legal Affairs

PL-01, The Capitol

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050

(850) 414-3300

Christopher.Knight@myfloridalegal.com

COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF

STATE OF FLORIDA

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AMELIA HALLENBERG BEARD, ESQUIRE

Moorhead Law Group

6757 Us Highway 98, Suite 102

Santa Rosa Beach, Florida 32459

(850) 608-0112

(850) 477-0982 (Fax)

abeard@moorheadlaw.com

COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF

ROBERT V. SMITH

ELIZABETH C. BILLHIMER, ESQUIRE

Clark Partington

4100 Legendary Drive, Suite 200

Destin, Florida 32541

(850) 650-8853

(850) 650-3305 (Fax)

ebillhimer@clarkpartington.com

bgilman@clarkpartington.com

cbmoore@clarkpartington.com

fkendall@clarkpartington.com

COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF

ROBERT V. SMITH

MICHAEL JAMES SCHOFIELD, ESQUIRE

Clark Partington

Post Office Box 13010

Pensacola, Florida 32591

(850) 434-9200

(850) 432-7340 Facsimile

mschofield@clarkpartington.com

ttorrez@cphlaw.com

COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF

ROBERT V. SMITH

Case 3:20-cv-03678-MCR-ZCB Document 79 Filed 07/31/23 Page 5 of 6
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A. BENJAMIN GORDON, III, ESQUIRE

Anchors Gordon, P.A.

2113 Lewis Turner Blvd., Suite 100

Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547

(850) 863-1974

(850) 863-1591 Facsimile

bgordon@anchorsgordon.com 

cyndi@anchorsgordon.com

dzamora@anchorsgordon.com

jschlechter@anchorsgordon.com

kim@anchorsgordon.com

mary@anchorsgordon.com

COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT

JAY A. ODOM

PETER J. KIRSCH, ESQUIRE

NATHANIEL H. HUNT, ESQUIRE

SARAH WILBANKS, ESQUIRE

Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell, LLP

1675 Broadway, Suite 2300

Denver, Colorado 80202

(303) 825-7000

(512) 791-9636

(720) 296-0076 (Fax)

pkirsch@kaplankirsch.com 

nhunt@kaplankirsch.com

swilbanks@kaplankirsch.com

CO-COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT

JAY A. ODOM

/s/ Matthew R. Shaud

MATTHEW R. SHAUD

Case 3:20-cv-03678-MCR-ZCB Document 79 Filed 07/31/23 Page 6 of 6