A law firm in Fort Lauderdale has been selected to represent the City of Avon Park in civil litigation regarding matters identified in a report from Gilchrist Law Firm in October 2025 regarding the Brickell Building, Mayor Garrett Anderson, City Councilmember Brittany McGuire and Daniel Sauls.
Only two law firms submitted proposals, but by a 2-1 vote Monday night, the council selected Shutts & Bowen to take the case. Anderson and McGuire abstained from voting, leaving Councilmembers Berniece Taylor and Michelle “Shelly” McGuire to vote in favor and Deputy Mayor Jim Barnard objecting.
Costs of the initial investigation were reported by interim City Manager Jason Atkinson as totaling $103,188.98, which does not include the cost for city staff performing work related to the investigation. He said the current funds available under the line item of Other Legal Services is at slightly less than $24,500.
“The financial burden cannot be determine at this time based on the complexity of the investigation,” he said.
Barnard wanted to see the issue of hiring a civil law attorney go before the voters in November instead of committing to spending an untold amount of money to proceed with the matter. His motion died for lack of a second.
The fee proposal submitted by Shutts & Bowen was $450-$550 per hour for partners and shareholders, $350-$400 an hour for associates and $250 an hour for paralegals. The hourly rate would be billed in “units of .10 hours.” The other law firm, Sabatini Law Firm out of Mount Dora, proposed $220 an hour for attorney fees and $65 an hour for paralegal fees. Their hourly rate will be billed in “quarter-hour (0.25) increments.”
Members of the audience questioned council members on their decision to move forward with a civil litigation, noting that it would become very expensive as these issues are not resolved quickly.
Alex Dean, a member of the audience, pointed out that Mercure, who referenced earlier a matter being “taken out of context,” had said five times over two meetings that “I don’t care how much it costs.”
Some members in the audience also noted that the complaints forwarded to the offices of the Attorney General, Commission of Ethics and Governor have not been reported. Taylor asked Atkinson to provide updates on those requests at the Jan. 26 meeting.
Mercure and Taylor stood firm on their decision to pursue civil litigation.
The findings of Gilchrist Law Firm’s investigation were summarized in the report: “Mayor Garrett Anderson and his sister, Councilmember Brittany McGuire, abused their power in the procurement and sale process related to the Brickell Building. Mayor Anderson directly and personally funded the buildout of the Brickell Building and personally worked on the construction of the same. Mayor Anderson’s employee, Daniel Sauls, was awarded the Brickell Building contract. Promise Technologies, Inc. (owned by Pat Anderson), served as the contractor of record for the project. Both Mayor Anderson and Councilmember McGuire’s husband, Erik McGuire, have ownership interests in Promise Technologies. The foregoing facts were not disclosed to the Avon Park City Council or to the public, and give rise to a conflict of interest and violation of ethical rules. We further found that the Brickell Building transfer proceeded without multi-level approval or a documented legal sufficiency review. This approach is inconsistent with established standards of municipal governance and financial oversight, which require checks and balances to prevent misuse of public funds.”
The report recommended “civil actions against Garrett Anderson, Brittany McGuire, and Daniel Sauls,” noting that criminal charges may also be appropriate.