Update: Judge Orders PB Internet To Pay $5170.76 Legal Fees

Feb 19, 2013

We have started a fund to help us cover this expense…click here for more information!

UPDATE: All current information has now been reported by the DAR. The DAR took 30 days to report about our case reopened, 17 days to report on the dismissal of the ethics charges, and yet only 3 days to report the city was awarded $5k in legal fees. I was not contacted by the DAR regarding either article in Friday’s (2/22) paper.

Back in January, one of the judge’s requirement for reinstating our case was that PB Internet would pay the City’s expenses incurred from the two extra hearings. We had argued that the charges were over and above that necessary to the proceedings, but the judge evidently didn’t agree. Earlier this afternoon, Judge Ligons ruled that PB Internet should pay $5170.76 of legal fees charged by Attorney Carl Lumley to the City of Poplar Bluff for the two hearings.

The charges included $2400 for drive time to/from St Louis twice (twelve hours of drive time billed at $200/hour). Good thing Lumley doesn’t charge hourly for sleeping at the Holiday Inn.

No one likes to have a judge rule against you but we will continue to plod on; we have 15 days to come up with the money and pay the amount and then our case can continue.

Today’s ruling stated:

Comes now the Court and allows Defendant’s request for attorney’s fees in the amount of $5,170.76. Plaintiff shall have 15 days to pay said amount or Plaintiff’s Response to Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment shall be stricken. So Ordered. – Judge Ligons/cb

I’ll go out on a limb and say that this will be in Wednesday’s DAR (update: it was in Friday’s edition)… Keep an eye on the DAR watch in the top right corner of SEMO.net.

We have started a fund to help us cover this expense…click here for more information!