By CAROL KENT
A judge has granted a request by the Washington County Board of County Commissioners (WCBOCC) to impose sanctions in a civil lawsuit filed in circuit court by Chipley-based contractors Joshua and Amanda Peel, owners of North Florida Contracting & Testing, Inc.
The Peels filed the suit in September 2023 in an action that named WCBOCC as defendants, along with Wheeler Emergency Management Consultants, LLC (WEMC) and that company’s owner, Benjamin Maddox, as well as Panhandle Excavating, Inc., (Panhandle) which is owned by Martin Vanderwerf, III, business partner of Maddox’s brother, Dewayne Maddox.
The suit claimed negligence, breach of duty, and conspiracy, alleging that Benjamin Maddox used his position with WEMC, “acting on behalf of” the county and conspiring with both the county and Panhandle “to fix the bidding process.”
“Washington County, Benjamin Maddox, and WEMC corruptly influenced the bidding process to award the contract to Defendant Panhandle, which was controlled by Benjamin Maddox’s brother,” stated the complaint.
WCBOCC was dismissed as a defendant in the case in August 2024 and filed the request for sanctions in April 2024, arguing that the lawsuit lacked legal merit. The case, however, is still ongoing against the other plaintiffs: Maddox, WEMC, and Panhandle, although the court also dismissed some of the charges against WEMC in an earlier ruling.
Circuit Court Judge Timothy Register called the suit against WCBOCC “frivolous” in a January 24 ruling that also ordered the Peels and their company, along with their attorney, Marie A. Mattox and her Tallahassee-based firm, Marie A. Mattox, P.A., jointly owed and would pay the county’s attorney fees and associated court costs. Judge Register went on to mandate that if the parties could not agree on what those fees should be, the county would need to schedule a hearing within 90 days.
The ruling comes in the wake of a December 5, 2024, hearing on the matter, held to determine whether to penalize the plaintiffs for filing weak or baseless claims.
“The claims alleged against Washington County … were unsupported,” reads the judge’s ruling. “The Court’s ruling on Washington County’s Motion for Sanctions is granted based on the same legal and factual analyses upon which the Court issued its Order on Washington County’s Motion to Dismiss … the claims for damages of Amanda Peel and Joshua Peel individually have no basis in law or fact as they did not submit bids as sole proprietors. Those individuals are not proper parties to this action, and their claims are frivolous.”
Judge Register went on to state Attorney Mattox was “well aware there is no cognizable claim for a negligent bidding process in Florida,” citing identical actions brought by Mattox in other cases.
“The Plaintiffs’ attorneys brought a negligent bidding process claim three times, and all three were dismissed by the Court for failure to state a cause of action,” states the public court record.
The original complaint alleged WEMC “misrepresented the bidding process” by stating federal funds would not be used and therefore, the Stafford Act – which regulates how FEMA manages disaster assistance – “would not need to be complied with” but later gave assurances that the county “would properly abide by the requirements of the Stafford Act.”
Specifically, the Peels point to a provision of the Stafford Act that says agencies are encouraged to prioritize local firms within the affected area when awarding contracts for disaster relief efforts. While this preference is not mandatory, the law states the preference should be used “to the extent feasible and practicable” and that if an agency chooses not to use local preference, they must explain their reasons in writing.
“These assurances constituted misrepresentations on the part of Defendants which were made with the intention of getting Plaintiff to participate in a sham bidding process,” stated the complaint. “At the time these assurances were given, Defendants knew, or had reason to know, that the bid process was indeed fixed and that the Stafford Act would not be complied with.”
The complaint further alleged misrepresentations were made to give Panhandle an edge in winning the contract while “many other bidding entities,” including the Peels, were “disqualified for arbitrary reasons so that Defendants could justify the award of the contract to Panhandle.”
“Benjamin Maddox, as the owner of WEMC and FEMA Coordinator for Washington County, knew what Washington County was looking for in bid applications and conveyed that information to his brother, Dewayne Maddox of Panhandle Excavating and Panhandle North,” continued the complaint document. “In other words, he had insider information which was conveyed to Panhandle Excavating and Panhandle North.”
The Peels could not comment on ongoing litigation but indicated they would seek an appeal of the January 24 ruling.
Look for an update on the case against the remaining defendants in an upcoming edition of the Washington County News.
GARRETT VALCOURT 
Staff Report