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TALLAHASSEE — The owner of a small art gallery hired to frame and install historic photos at the posh new 1st District Court of Appeal building has filed suit against two state agencies in an attempt to collect $357,000 in unpaid bills.
Signature Art Gallery won the 2010 contract to provide the court with 400 framed photos of watermelon festivals, greased pig contests, tobacco farms, light houses and other Florida scenes.
The St. Petersburg Times first published stories about the $50 million building, dubbed the Taj Mahal, last year. State auditors subsequently began looking into its financing and plans that included miles of mahogany and granite, with kitchens and bathrooms and 60-inch flat-screen TV sets for each of the court's 15 judges.
Auditors for Chief Finance Officer Alex Sink initially refused to approve the first $190,000 payment for the photos in October 2010. After Jeff Atwater replaced Sink in January, he vetoed the entire purchase. He said it exceeded legal limits for the purchase of art for a state building and could not be paid from the proceeds of a bond issue.
That left the gallery, owned by Mary Maida of Tallahassee, on the hook for hundreds of framed photos that are now being stored in climate-controlled facilities.
On Wednesday, Maida's husband, lawyer Tom Maida of Foley & Lardner, filed suit in Leon County Circuit Court against the Department of Management Services and the Department of Financial Services. Maida wants the court to order payment of the $357,000 plus attorneys fees and other costs.
A spokeswoman for Atwater said he regrets the position the gallery is in but believes the pictures were not a "lawful, allowable expenditure." The department is "reviewing the suit," said spokeswoman Tami Torres.
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