Disgruntled donors who want Gov. Charlie Crist to return contributions made when he was a Republican will have to file their cases individually, a senior circuit court judge ruled Thursday by rejecting a motion to allow thousands of cases to be joined in a class action lawsuit.
The plaintiffs' request for certification is denied, Collier County Senior Circuit Judge Jack Schoonover informed attorneys in an e-mail. The final order was not yet available Thursday afternoon.
Schoonovers ruling comes days after attorneys for the donors asked him to consolidate claims against Crist, who is now running as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate. The pair want Crist to return up to $7.5 million in contributions given before he left the Republican Party in April.
Rep. Tom Grady, R-Naples and an attorney representing a pair of Republican donors who gave money to Crist when he was running as a Republican, told the News Service on Thursday his clients have yet to decide if they want to appeal the ruling.
In the meantime, Grady said he is advising donors who want their money back to take their individual cases to court.
We may rather go ahead withhundreds of individual claims, Grady said. Weve spent a lot of time arguing about this class action. It might just be better to give them what they want. Be careful what you wish for.
Crists attorney, however, called Thursdays decision a victory in what he said was a frivolous case by the Republican Party of Florida aimed at tying up Crists money in the campaigns final weeks.
The courts decision underscores this case is nothing more than two small-claims disputes, said Fort Myers attorney Scott Weinstein Once the court enters his formal order, what is left of this case will find itself in the small claims division of the county court,
Schoonovers ruling is the latest in a series of legal battles fought before the senior judge.
Donors Linda Morton of Naples and John Rood, an RPOF finance chairman and former U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas, sued Crist in June, claiming he should not be able to use campaign contributions made when he was running for the U.S. Senate as a Republican.
Though the two contributed a total of $5,300, they asked to be allowed to represent hundreds of other contributors who may want their money back as well. On Tuesday, Schoonover denied a motion for an injunction that would have prevented Crist from spending money until the judge ruled on class action status.
