The Fayette County Board of Commissioners is looking at legal expenses totaling more than $430,000 to date in its court case with the Ga. State Conference of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) over district voting.
The commission on Dec. 12 released a statement saying that the county had recently received up-to-date billing statements from the attorneys hired to represent the county government in the NAACP district voting lawsuit.
The latest statements in the district voting case bring the legal account current with the firm of Strickland, Brockington and Lewis, LLP. Counsel has billed the county $434,155 in fees and expenses over the three and a half years of the case, said Fayette County Chief Deputy Clerk Tameca White.
White said there may be future legal fees related to the appeal currently before the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said.
As of April 28, 2014 the NAACP lawyers have incurred fees and expenses of $787,882, White said.
Submission of the bills, with portions dating back to 2013, was delayed by the illness of one of the defense team’s attorney who was responsible for billing the county, said White.
“Although it is atypical for us to receive statements dating back to 2013 in such a delayed fashion, our staff was aware of the illness situation and that some charges to the county could be delayed,” said Chairman Steve Brown. “I believe the plaintiff’s attorneys were also aware of the defense team member’s illness.”
Fees paid from the latest statements cover all outstanding billing from January 2013 to the present in the amount of $162,663.95, said White.
