A federal judge denied a request from a TV producer to stop the Florida House of Representatives from demanding business records connected to shows he made with Emeril LaGasse and Martha Stewart for Visit Florida.
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker said Friday he could not issue a preliminary injunction because the Legislature has the inherent authority to issue subpoenas and call witnesses and that C. Patrick Roberts, the subject of the subpoena, was not under immediate harm by the action.
Roberts, the owner of MAT Media, is being investigated by the House over the $15 million Visit Florida paid the Tallahassee producer over several years to create a series of television shows spotlighting the Sunshine State.
The remarks came after the full House voted to issue Roberts a subpoena with very little discussion, prompting Rep. Joe Geller, D-Aventura, to question whether Roberts’ due process rights were being violated.
Jansen and House attorney Adam Tanenbaum told the court that they had begun negotiations to turn over documents that Roberts felt he could release without divulging trade secrets or facing lawsuits from the production companies with which he had contracted.
Reps. Larry Metz, R-Yalah, and Larry Ahern, R-Seminole, were present during the nearly two and a half hour proceeding. Both declined to comment.
After Metz, chair of the House Public Integrity and Ethics Committee issued a subpoena for Roberts in October, Roberts filed suit in state court saying the chair was overstepping his legislative authority.
Two cases are already pending in state court related to that subpoena, prompting Walker to ask why nobody filed a motion to advance those cases if they were concerned about the timeliness of the 2018 Legislative session.
“You have a process pending in state court then you pull an Emeril and Bam! issue another subpoena to do an end run around the state court,” Walker said.
Contact Schweers at jschweers@tallahassee.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffschweers