Matt Rector initiated this complaint about multiple violations.
I started by following the case of the Resignation / Firing of Matt Dorriety, the Indian Hammock Manager.
Please note: I am adding information as received; the newest one is at the top of this page.
Scroll down to start at the beginning with A01.
The legal complaint submitted is A03.
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A07 -2025-03-10 Mike Dixon response to 2025 IH BOD President Barbara Roberts
Hi Barbara,
Good morning.
Thank you for your email attempting to explain what happened to Matt.
If we were to believe your assertions to be true, then why not notify the community at the February board meeting of the decision to make Ron the interim manager? Why were the minutes of such meeting not presented and approved at the February board meeting? A decision to hire an interim manager is very noteworthy to the IH membership and not confidential information. Why do the February Board minutes online not have any mention of Matt Dorriety’s resignation that was a part of his Manager’s Report at the February Board meeting? Another attempt to keep the IH members in the dark?
Also, why not notify the membership at the February board meeting that a search committee would be formed to find, recruit and hire a new manager? Why was all of this kept secret until pushing by IH members forced you to disclose this information?
If we were to believe that you had such claimed meeting, why was there no 14 day advance notice to all IH members by Carla Sapp of the conflict of interest that the IH Board was considering hiring her husband for interim manager position as required by Florida Statute 720.3033(6)(b)? Because the conflict was not disclosed, appointment of Ron as interim manager was ineffective and has created a legal liability for Indian Hammock.
In your response, you twice insinuated that the previous board acted illegally. As former IH Board President, David Bass, pointed out, Matt was not hired until he obtained his CAM license, which is a very small hurdle of two days of online courses and a two hour test with no experience required. A candidate’s management experience is more important than whether a simple CAM license has been obtained. Furthermore, as David pointed out, the IH attorney reviewed and approved Matt’s contract before Matt signed it. Your attempts to confuse and gaslight the IH membership is remarkable and is a breach of your fiduciary duties of honesty, loyalty and integrity to put the shared interests of all IH members above any personal motivations or views.
Matt’s typo in the date of his resignation letter is meaningless and has no effect on Matt’s effective last day being April 10.
Matt’s call to Blue Cross Blue Shield confirmed that you had his insurance canceled before his last day being April 10 contrary to your explanation.
When you do not pay an employee according to his employment contract, cancel his insurance before his effective last day, tell him that today is his last day, and respond verbally to his request to pay him according to the employment contract terms be stating “that contract is for the Hammock, not you,” you’ve effectively fired him. Matt has a very good argument that now the clause in the contract regarding 90 days compensation for termination without cause kicks in. As such, your unauthorized conduct would then cost IH members at least $14,000.
In contrast to your letter, the only unfortunate thing is that we members have to step up and spend our time and energy notifying the IH members of your constant violations of Florida law and breaches of fiduciary duty. This unlawful behavior must stop.
TRANSPARENCY
One of the first statements you made as newly elected Board Chair was that everything would be transparent. Nothing could be further from the truth. There have been at least six unannounced, unnoticed board meetings in less than two months which have all been in violation of Florida Statute 720.303(2)(c)1 and 720.303(4)(b)1.m.
Notifying the membership via the Notifii system is effective and easy yet hasn’t been used to notify the membership.
Why the violations? What are you hiding from us?
HIRING COMMITTEE CHARADE
Many longtime IH members can’t help but to look at the current hiring committee and wonder what is going on. The management committee has been constituted without any of the nine members from the 2023 hiring committee. We spent four months meeting every Monday night on zoom to draft a three page job description, screen resumes, conduct phone and in-person interviews, host candidates, analyze Culture Index reports predicting candidate fit for the job and generate a 100+ page report. It took countless hours. Yet, the first meeting last night only had 3 of the 6 current hiring committee members on the call, which was not even enough for a quorum so no business could be conducted. Where is the desire to identify candidates and get moving? Or has a manager already been chosen?
Shortly after Matt’s resignation, IH board member, Carla Sapp, has said publicly to an IH employee “it’s good Matt quit so now we don’t have to fire him.”
Wow. Really!? So the plan all along has been to fire Matt?
But wait, Mrs. Sapp didn’t stop there. She introduced her husband to two IH employees as their new boss.
Really!? So is it a foregone conclusion that Ron, who has never managed any organization, will be the IH manager?
That’s really unfortunate because even Ron said to Matt Dorriety, “I’m not even sure why I’m here. I’m just doing what I’ve been told . . . I’m in over my head.” Ron is a goody guy and doesn’t deserve to be caught up in this mess you’ve created.
All of this points in a direction of a longtime desire by some to implement a weak manager who will be controlled by a management committee.
Years ago, IH was run into the ground in this exact way. In fact, IH was run by a weak manager and controlled by a management committee who met every Monday to tell the manager what to do. Chest high weeds were in the tennis court and everything in a state of disrepair. This was also the same time when there were two sets of books, $40,000 missing, theft of hundreds of gallons of fuel and other theft of IH resources. By all accounts, that management structure was a colossal failure. It was absolutely astounding what I learned as the Chairman of the 2023 IH Manager Search Committee in an effort to hire the best manager we could afford and who fit IH the best with a goal of preventing IH from going backwards.
We hope and pray that IH is not headed back to those dark times.
IH deserves much better than this current Board.
BCC: All IH Members
On Sun, Mar 9, 2025 at 2:58 PM Indian Hammock President <Barbara.Roberts@ihammock.net> wrote:
Mike,Dear Members of Indian Hammock
The Board of Directors would like to clarify some information that is going around the Hammock. Matt Dorriety was not fired, he turned in his resignation letter on February 10, 2025, even though it was dated January 10, 2025.
The Board held a noticed Personnel Meeting on February 14, 2025, to decide how to replace Matt. It was decided to establish a Search Committee to find a new manager and, in the interim, have Ron Sapp as Acting Manager as he has held a CAM License for over ten years unlike Matt Dorriety who did not have a CAM License when he was hired which is a 720 requirement.
It is important to note about Matt’s contract that the IH attorney never reviewed the final contract. The language was subsequently reviewed by the attorney after Matt resigned. After the Board made Ron Sapp Acting Manager there was no need for Matt to stay and Ron drove Matt home as he had no personal vehicle at the office.
Matt’s insurance was not cancelled when he resigned, the insurance company was notified when he left which is a normal practice for companies. Matt’s insurance did not cover his wife.
It is unfortunate that you are receiving incorrect information. If you have questions about the messages, you received, please contact me or a board member to confirm.
Barbara Roberts, President
Indian Hammock Hunt & Riding Club, Inc.
This email was sent by Indian Hammock Hunt and Riding Club, 32801 U.S. HWY 441 North #400, Okeechobee, FL 34972.
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A06 – 2025-03-09 Matt Rector and Paula Jastermsky respond to some members’ interactions about Matt filing of a notice of BOD Violations.
To our neighbors:
I have not seen the employment contract. That being said, I do not believe the prior Board would have signed a contract with anyone, vendor or Manager, without having it vetted by the Association’s attorney. While yes, an employment contract should protect the Association, it should also protect the person who it relates to, i.e. the Community Manager, from any type of malfeasance from new or old Boards; it certainly appears that what has happened could be construed as such.
The state of Florida is a right-to-work state, which means we can hire and fire at will. That is why, for a management position, a contract is important for continuity of processes. 60 days is not an unreasonable amount of time to start a search, interview, and hire a new Manager. If the contract in force at the time required the Manager to give 60 days notice of resignation, then the Manager should be paid for that 60 day period, unless there is a clause in the contract that states the Board does not need to accept the Manager’s 60 day notice, and can release him or her immediately without pay for that 60 day period. Whether there is or not, any prudent Board should have spoken to their attorney before taking this course of action.
Based on the on-line chatter, the Manager may have a case against the Association for Breach of Contract. While the Directors & Officers insurance policy for the Association would normally cover any issues related to Board decisions, if the case can be made that the Board did knowingly breach the Manager’s contract, the insurance carrier may not pay a claim, leaving the Association open to a financial demand for the balance of the Manager’s contract pay and legal fees.
Finally, while the Acting Manager may have a Community Association Managers license, as the husband of the Board VP, his being put into the Manager’s job even temporarily is a blatant conflict of interest. Moving forward, any discussions or decisions the Board makes regarding potential litigation with the former Manager, new Manager search, or hiring of a new Manager should absolutely require the VP to recuse herself from discussion of or vote on the matter as the VP cannot be considered impartial. If that does not happen, it will taint whatever happens in the new Manager search and will continue to cause consternation within the Association.
Paula Jastermsky
LCAM, CMCA, AMS
Lot 10
From: “matt securityandsoundsys.com” <matt@securityandsoundsys.com>
Date: March 9, 2025 at 9:21:40 PM EDT
To: Julio Morejon <jmorejon@me.com>, jerry@myroussos.com
Hey Julio,
I disagree. There is but one truth. Matt Dorriety had an employment contract that required 60 days notice to resign. He gave that notice. He had good reviews from the Previous BOD. I was in that meeting, about sixty days ago. I suspect he couldn’t deal with a hostile work environment caused by some of the current BOD, in particular Barbara Roberts, and didn’t want to be involved with what he thought were their illegal and/or unethical actions. Regardless, demanding he leave IH five weeks early, and stating that IH will not pay him for the balance of his contract, is constructively “FIRING HIM”. Doing that, and then terminating his insurance immediately, without regard for his good service to our community for the past year and a half, is unprofessional and nasty. To do it without a properly noticed BOD meeting is probably grossly negligent. I personally think it’s despicable. Is that what Indian Hammock is about now? Guess the new “Hammock Wave” is a single finger salute.
However, you are missing the real point. Barbara Roberts is NOT the owner of a private Company. She is ONLY the President of the Board of Directors of a home owners association. There is a huge difference. She is governed by an entirely different set of rules, ours and FS720. If she did this on her own, without a BOD notice/meeting/vote, as it sure looks like she did, she constructively fired our employee we spent months finding and incurred costs obtaining and training. Regardless if he gave notice, I believe it was grossly negligent behavior on her part to fire him early. The balance of Mr. Dorrety’s time should have been used to train a new Manager if possible, and/or reduce the disruption. She cost us money and our reputation as a good employer, not to mention violating our club rules and FS720.
She rearranged the office so she can have a desk and run the place from there without a BOD meeting or Member input on that. Apparently, she now the de-facto Queen and Manager with VP Carla Sapp as her side kick. Isn’t that nice? Carla’s husband, Ron Sapp, was hired for the Managers position without a BOD meeting, search committee, or any community input despite his complete and total lack of Management experience. Frankly, I like Ron, but I believe he is in way over his head. The Club didn’t even get Mr. Dorrety to “train him” for five weeks.
Truth is, I believe this firing was in retaliation for Mr. Dorriety sending an email to the BOD the day before telling them they had to post their meetings on the website per FS720. They didn’t like that. Barbara Roberts in particular doesn’t like anyone questioning her absolute power and authority.
These are things that should matter to all of us, which is why I filed a complaint. I stand by my words.
Sincerely,
Matthew Rector
Lot 256
A05 – 2025-03-09 2024 IH President David Bass (A Team) response to 2025 IH President Barbara Roberts (B Team) and emails exchange between the two.
To understand the terms A Team and B Team, please read The Quail Barn War.
IH Members;
You received an email today from President Barbara Roberts.
The email had mis-information. Neither Barbara, nor any board members asked me for the facts…Barbara has not acknowledged that she will in my request, so for those that want the truth here it is:
The Club’s attorney reviewed Matt’s employment contract before Matt signed it. The Club’s attorney made edits to our previous manager’s contract and those were all incorporated into Matt’s employment contract. Barbara’s email to all of us implied that the Club’s attorney was not aware of the contract terms. But the truth is, he was aware of the contract terms, but since the Board was now attempting to understand what their obligations to Matt are post his resignation, the attorney requested the executed copy and a copy of his resignation letter. Barbara misrepresented that to all of us in her email.
In regards to Matt’s CAM license, he executed his acceptance letter with an accommodation that he be allowed some extra time to get his CAM. I signed off on that after securing Bob Baum’s generous agreement to stay on as our CAM holder during Matt’s transition (this was budgeted in the 2024 budget). All of this is documented in the office files.
All of this could have been easily explained by me to this board in a phone call as they know from my January 20th email to all of them that I am happy to help answer any questions as needed. I have no interest in upsetting anyone, just don’t appreciate being only given partial information and attacks on my character through factual omission.
If anyone wants more, you can read the thread below as they are in chronological order and explain everything.
Thank you,
David Bass
Lot 208
Begin forwarded message:
From: barbara barbara.roberts@ihammock.net
Date: March 9, 2025 at 3:49:24 PM EDT
To: David Bass thebassfamily260@gmail.com
Cc: Fred Kretschmer flk@veroattorneys.com, Joseph Coyle joe@coyle.ws, “matt securityandsoundsys.com” matt@securityandsoundsys.com, Tim Ward gtwgunsmithing@gmail.com, Corey Miller corey@bmhtaxes.com, mkdixonfl mkdixonfl@gmail.com, John Kassing johnkassing7760@gmail.com
Subject: Re: From the president
David
I called Fred when Matt said that he was staying for 2 months and asked Fred if indeed that we had to let him stay. Fred said he was asked to review Bob Baum’s contract and make some changes but didn’t have the contract that was signed and asked me to send it to him along with Matt’s resignation letter
As far as the fact that Matt did not have a CAM license when he signed the contract in Nov 2023 is a fact since he didn’t get it until March 14, 2024 and I knew Bob Baum had to stay until Matt got his CAM license
Barbara
On Mar 9 2025, at 3:36 pm, David Bass thebassfamily260@gmail.com wrote:
Barbara,
Fred did review the contract prior to Matt executing it. In fact, I asked Fred to review Bob Baum’s contract and he did. Fred included his recommendations of which all were incorporated in the contract that Matt signed. You should be able to locate those emails.
Also, there should be a copy of the offer letter in Matt’s file where he accepted the job but wrote that he would need a little extra time to complete the CAM. I accepted this condition and simultaneously arranged for Bob Baum to stay on until the Matt passed the CAM test. I did not know that you didn’t know that as you were in the office weekly?
I ask that you send a new President letter out clarifying this information and next time just ask me.
Thanks
Dave
A04 – 2025-03-09 IH President Barbara Roberts email
Dear Members of Indian Hammock
The Board of Directors would like to clarify some information that is going around the Hammock. Matt Dorriety was not fired, he turned in his resignation letter on February 10, 2025, even though it was dated January 10, 2025.
The Board held a noticed Personnel Meeting on February 14, 2025, to decide how to replace Matt. It was decided to establish a Search Committee to find a new manager and, in the interim, have Ron Sapp as Acting Manager as he has held a CAM License for over ten years unlike Matt Dorriety who did not have a CAM License when he was hired which is a 720 requirement.
It is important to note about Matt’s contract that the IH attorney never reviewed the final contract. The language was subsequently reviewed by the attorney after Matt resigned. After the Board made Ron Sapp Acting Manager there was no need for Matt to stay and Ron drove Matt home as he had no personal vehicle at the office.
Matt’s insurance was not cancelled when he resigned, the insurance company was notified when he left which is a normal practice for companies. Matt’s insurance did not cover his wife.
It is unfortunate that you are receiving incorrect information. If you have questions about the messages, you received, please contact me or a board member to confirm.
Barbara Roberts, President
Indian Hammock Hunt & Riding Club, Inc.
A03 – 2025-03-07 Matthew Rector email to Barbara Roberts and the rest of the BOD members – also officially submitted to the Club.
This is a complaint submitted under Article XIII, Section 2 of the Indian Hammock Declaration of Restrictions. I expect to receive a written response within 30 days of the date of this letter in accordance with the Declaration of Restrictions.
Dear Barbara Roberts,
I heard that the “Special Members Meeting” was cancelled by the BOD:
- Please identify the time, date and attending BOD Members when they met to vote on this cancellation.
2. Please provide when and where notification of this meeting was posted on the website as required by FS720303 (4) OFFICIAL RECORDS (m), and how it complied with FS720.303 (2) BOARD MEETINGS (a) (b) and (c) 1.
3. I am hereby officially requesting the minutes of that meeting as per FS720.3032 (3) MINUTES. As per FS720.303 (5) (a) I will expect to receive these documents within 10 days.
While on the subject, please provide the same information for the BOD meeting that occurred with a Burn Boss in the outback immediately after the last BOD meeting at the lodge. That burn meeting was conducting Hammock business, had witnesses including law enforcement, and was NOT disclosed at the BOD meeting held earlier. As you are well aware, per FS720.202 (2) BOARD MEETINGS (a) A meeting of the board of directors of an association occurs whenever a quorum of the board gathers to conduct association business.
At the BOD meeting held at the lodge, I spoke before the BOD and officially notified them of the Rule Violation committed by one of the Hunt Committee Co-Chairs. The Hunt Committee Co-Chair admitted his violation freely while speaking about this matter to the BOD. Please disclose what steps have been taken so far regarding that rule violation, and if as stated in the Meeting one or more Members of the BOD encouraged him to violate the IH rules in this matter. At that meeting, I also asked about the meeting that you, Albert Rossodivita, and Carla Sapp held with the Manager in his office. It seems you three IH officers apparently made him stay after normal working hours and had a meeting to inform him of new work requirements not stated on his original contract. He resigned shortly thereafter. Since such modifications of the Manager’s contract can only be a BOD decision, I request the same information referenced above regarding that meeting.
Furthermore, I hereby request per the same information cited above regarding when the BOD met to appoint Ron Sapp, the Vice-President’s husband, as the new IH Manager. I question why that information has not been posted on the website as required. Additionally, as per HB1203 the following information should have already have been posted on the website regarding Association Managers:
· Provide the members of the homeowners’ association the following information, post the information on the homeowner association’s website or application as required by section 720.303(4)(b), Florida Statutes, and update the information within 14 business days of any changes:
- Name and contact information for each community association manager or representative assigned to the homeowners’ association.
- Hours of availability.
- Summary of the duties performed by the community association manager or representative.
· Provide a copy of the contract between the community association manager or firm and the homeowners’ association to any member upon request. The contract must be included with the homeowners’ association’s official records.
Finally, yesterday you fired the current Manager Matt Doherty, who gave a 60 day notice as per his contract, five weeks before he was scheduled to leave. You took his access card, keys and had Ron Sapp drive him home, seemingly in an attempt to humiliate him. I challenge your authority to do so, as that is necessarily a BOD decision. I find it to be a despicable act by you and anyone else involved. I demand you provide when that BOD meeting occurred. I am hereby officially requesting the minutes of that meeting as per FS720 as cited previously, and have that information posted on the website. The entire Membership needs to be informed of your actions, and how each and every BOD Member voted. You swore an oath to uphold our rules and Florida statues, as did every other BOD member. Violations of the Statutes in FS720 are criminal, and I believe they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. To whit:
FS720.3033 (5)(d) Any director or member of the board or association or a community association manager who knowingly, willfully, and repeatedly violates paragraph (a), with the intent of causing harm to the association or one or more of its members, commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “repeatedly” means two or more violations within a 12-month period.
FS720.3033 (5)(f) Any person who willfully and knowingly refuses to release or otherwise produce association records with the intent to avoid or escape detection, arrest, trial, or punishment for the commission of a crime, or to assist another person with such avoidance or escape, commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
It is very unfortunate that it seems the current BOD has been acting in a manner inconsistent with the intent of our documents, Florida Law, and the best interest of the Community. I personally consider your actions regarding our Manager Matt Doherty, including his firing yesterday, to be absolutely and completely unconscionable. By all appearances, you have acted in a grossly negligent manner on multiple occasions. It seems you have not considered the ramifications of your actions, and their negative effect on all Members of the Club and the Indian Hammock Community.
Sincerely,
Matthew Rector
Lot 256
A02 – 2025-03-07 Mike Dixon email to members in Indian Hammocks
What on earth is going on at the Hammock!?
Simply put, the selfish acts of a few have ruined the livelihood of a very good man, Matt Dorriety.
In less than two months on the job, the new Board has run off the IH Manager, missed payroll this week, and held countless secret board meetings in direct violation of Florida law.
What!?
In particular, the IH Board has constructively fired Matt Dorriety in a meeting three weeks ago of Barbara, Carla and Rossodivita where they placed demands on Matt contrary to his employment contract and by the Board repeatedly violating Florida statutes. Matt had enough of the repeated violations of Florida law and incessant unauthorized demands, so he resigned. Matt is a great man with a strong work ethic and integrity. He was not going to stand for the current IH Board attempts to discredit both. Matt left a career with Okeechobee County with intentions of finishing his working career with us over the next ten years. Apparently, the current Board made it bad enough that he left without another job lined up.
According to Matt’s contract with IH, Matt provided IH with 60 days written notice, which placed his last day on April 10.
Yesterday morning, new IH Board member Mary Jo berated Matt on the phone for not responding to emails from upset IH members asking questions to the Board, not Matt, about the countless unnoticed IH Board meetings in violation of Florida Law. Matt responded to her that he couldn’t provide answers to emails about board meetings that he was not a part of and knew nothing about. Otherwise, he would just be making up facts,. and none of the Board members have provided him with any explanation as to the what, when, why etc. of the secret board meetings.
Matt then sent the attached email to the Board once again explaining Florida law requiring the Board to post notices of ALL meetings, regardless of whether open or closed, to the IH website and at the IH front gate.
In apparent retaliation for Matt placing in writing that the IH Board has been violating Florida law, Barbara, on her own, walked into Matt’s office and fired him. She took his access card and had Ron drive him home.
When was the Board meeting authorizing Barbara to fire Matt before his contracted for last day?
Where was the notice for such Board meeting in accordance with Florida law?
The IH attorney, Fred, knew nothing about the actions taken yesterday.
Barbara also stated that IH will not be paying Matt until April 10 according to his employment contract. Barbara stated the reason for not complying with the employment contract as “Well that contract protects IH, not you (Matt Dorriety).”
Really!? Wow! Even when Matt’s contract that states if Matt is fired, IH must pay him 90 days salary. Unbelievable.
If the new IH Board had a desire to let Matt go, then there are clearly better ways to let Matt transition into a new job than to abruptly fire him. Matt did no wrong. In fact, one IH employee has stated that Matt has been the best manager that she has ever had in her decades of work. Matt served as a good manager of Indian Hammock and has been well respected for years in Okeechobee as evident for his nearly fifteen years of service on the Sheriff’s mounted posse. Matt did not deserve to be mistreated and run over by the current Board.
If the Board wanted to switch from Matt, they could have treated Matt fairly by allowing Matt to find another job first and, at a minimum, honored his contract. Rather, they have plowed full steam ahead seeking revenge on the bird hunters. Wow.
Not only has this board treated Matt absolutely horribly for no reason but now Barbara has created legal liability for IH and is costing all of us money.
It’s clear – we all expect much better.
Former Chairman of the IH Manager Search Committee 2023
A01 – 2025-03-06 Matt Dorriety sent a warning email to the IH BOD reminding them to follow Florida Statute 720 regarding proper procedures for BOD meetings and notices.
