MEDICAL DIRECTOR HAS TO PAY LEGAL COSTS

An Escambia County Circuit Court judge has ruled that Escambia County’s medical director will have to pay the court costs of a local activist she sued in 2019 for defamation. Medical Director Doctor Rayme Edler filed a lawsuit in July 2019 against Escambia County resident Mel Pino during the Emergency Medical Services training scandal, but later dropped the suit just as depositions were to begin. The presiding judge, Jeffery Burns, was removed from the case and later resigned. Circuit Court Judge Thomas Dannheisser was assigned the case and awarded legal costs to Pino, but not attorney’s fees. Dannheisser also criticized Burns’ handling of the case, including the issuing of what he called an incorrect temporary injunction,