Questions for Dr. Dennington
Funoe LLC has an active lawsuit against the Town of Melbourne Beach for which it is seeking restitution for attorney fees projected to be between $50,000 to $100,000 (Estimate determined by Town Attorney Ryan Knight.)
Dr. Elvin Dennington, Jr., MD, and his wife, Mayor Alison Dennington, are listed as the two managing members of Funoe LLC, a Florida-registered company that owns properties in the Town of Melbourne Beach. On March 28, 2025, Funoe LLC filed suit against the Town of Melbourne Beach based on numerous public records requests that were submitted between March 6th to March 12th demanding that they be provided within 5 days. CLICK HERE to read.
Given Dr. Dennington’s role as a local physician whose patients include town residents, many in our community are asking why a family so rooted in the town would pursue litigation concerning public records for key fob access to Town Hall. How are key fob records related to the business operations of Funoe LLC?
Funoe LLC contends that the Town failed to comply with legal requirements associated with the request which it believes warranted legal action. The Town maintains it did not refuse the requests; rather, due to an usually high volume of public records requests (including the multiple lengthy requests made by Funoe LLC), the Town did respond in good faith by providing the requests, albeit not within the the time frame demanded by Funoe LLC’s counsel.
Below are the actual public records requests (PRR) made on behalf of Funoe, LLC. Each of the PRRs had multiple items listed. You can see when and how the requests were made and when they were fulfilled.
Request #PRR-2025-33 Composite Exhibit "A" Any and all correspondence or documents since August 1, 2024 regarding or referencing FUNOE, LLC Specifically, any emails sent February 19, 2025 any notes from any phone calls held on February 10 or 24, 2025 I would prefer that these records be produced in their electronic format by email or share file link.
PR2025-33 had 214 items, with some items containing as many as 209 pages, that were provided. CLICK HERE to read.
Request #PRR-2025-34 Any record, including any document, memo, letter, email, billing entry or other record, of the "Zoning official" (aka the Planner, aka Corey O'gorman) discussing or "interpreting" 7A-57 made on after January 11, 2024.
PRR-2025-34 has 4 items that were provided. CLICK HERE to read.
Request #PRR-2025-35 Any transcript of any meeting involving litigation with or against Alison Dennington or Funoe, LLC. Any and all agreements with Alison Dennington or Funoe, LLC. If you claim these records are exempt, please state so and provide the statutory justification.
PRR-2025-35 has 5 items that were provided. CLICK HERE to read.
Request #PRR-2025-36 A) All written town policies related specifically to "key fob(s)" and to "access" to the building for Commissioners and the Mayor, and employees and staff of the Town. B) all records related to the issuance and return of any key fob to former 1) mayor James (Jim) Simmons, 2) former Mayor Wyatt Hoover, 3) former Vice Mayor Joyce Barton, 4) Former Commissioners Sherrie Quarrie, 5) Corey Runte, and 6)Marivi's Walker C) Any record of any kind evidencing any official or unofficial change to that written policy suggested, discussed or made by anyone including Cliff Repperger, Melanie Griswold, and/or Elizabeth Mascara or anyone else D) - Specifically any request by Mayor Dennington for Key Fob access and key fob usage records E) all records of any kind that record in any way usage of any and key fobs to access town property from November 2022 to today
PRR-2025-36 has 6 items that were provided. CLICK HERE to read.
Request #PD-2025-2 is a Police Department records request and is included in PRR-2025-36.
Ironically, it is also important to note that public records requests have been made related to the mayor’s own records but they have not yet been provided. Residents have requested records related to Mayor Dennington’s social media posts which remain unfulfilled since June 2025. Under Florida law, public officials serve as custodians of their social media posts and are obligated to provide them as public records. Those unresolved requests have not been provided to the town clerk by the mayor and have led some residents to question whether compliance has been consistent between the mayor asking for public records vs. the public asking the mayor for public records in her possession.
The following fact is particularly significant to all town residents who will be left to foot the bill for this litigation and merits clarification:
Funoe LLC is listed as a business entity on Sunbiz.org, the Florida Department of State Department of Corporations. There are only two managing members, specifically: Dr. Elvin Dennington, Jr. and Mayor Alison Dennington. CLICK HERE to see corporate filing.
At a Special Town Commission Meeting on March 4, Vice Mayor Dr. Terry Cronin publicly asked Mayor Dennington to consider dropping the lawsuit now that the records requests have been satisfied. According to meeting accounts, that question was neither acknowledge nor accepted by the mayor.
Residents have now turned their attention to the co-manager of the company that is suing the Town of Melbourne Beach, Dr. Elvin Dennington, to address the following questions:
What factors influenced your company’s decision to pursue litigation instead of continuing with administrative or cooperative remedies, especially considering that the requested records were eventually produced?
Given that your wife is the mayor of Melbourne Beach, how did you as co-manager of Funoe LLC weigh potential conflicts between public responsibilities and private legal interests before filing suit against the Town through your company, Funoe LLC?
Dr. Dennington, as a manager of Funoe LLC, will YOU consider withdrawing the lawsuit now that the contested records were provided? Alternatively, please explain the continuing basis for pursuing the case and your attorney fees against the Town.
Town commissioners reacted strongly at the March 4th Special Town Commission Meeting: the commission voted to ask Governor DeSantis to review the actions taken by Mayor Dennington against the town she represents. Residents are preparing similar correspondence to the Governor. As members of the community and as patients and neighbors of Dr. Dennington, many seek straightforward answers.
The information in this article relies on public records, corporate filings, and statements made during public meetings. Dr. Dennington, as a managing member of Funoe LLC, town residents would welcome your response to these questions so they can understand your reasoning and whether resolution outside of costly litigation remains possible. If you wish to supply documents or a statement for publication, please provide them so we can report them alongside these concerns. You may EMAIL Truth and Accuracy Matter here.
For New and Updates from Truth and Accuracy Matter, CLICK HERE.