Gordon mayor’s lawyer submits nearly $95,000 invoice to city for his services

An attorney representing Gordon’s mayor in her fight to remain in office has submitted an invoice of nearly $95,000 to the city for his services.

Last year, two city councilmen and members of the Concerned Citizens of Gordon group filed suit, seeking Mary Ann Whipple-Lue’s ouster. They alleged violations of the state’s Open Meetings Act, malfeasance and other misconduct.

Several pretrial matters were appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court. In June, the court ruled that although Whipple-Lue could be sued in her official capacity, she must be sued as an individual to be removed from office or penalized for alleged sunshine law violations.

Wayne Kendall, Whipple-Lue’s attorney, contends that the court’s ruling ended the suit, resulting in a win for his client.

Since the city’s insurance carrier refused to provide the mayor a lawyer and the city attorney had a conflict of interest, Whipple-Lue hired her own attorney, he said.

By law, in such situations -- and when an officeholder prevails -- the local government is responsible for the official’s legal bill, Kendall said.

Devlin Cooper, a lawyer representing the Concerned Citizens group and councilmen Terry Eady and Freddie Densley, said Kendall’s determination that his client has prevailed is premature.

“He hasn’t won. He’s putting the cart before the horse,” Cooper said.

Some of the claims raised by the councilmen and the Concerned Citizens group survived the state Supreme Court’s ruling, he said.

Cooper has filed a motion seeking to amend the suit to include the mayor in her individual capacity.

Kendall has known since the outset of the litigation that the group intended to sue Whipple-Lue in both her official and individual capacities, making the issue an “amendable defect,” Cooper said.

A judge hasn’t ruled on the amendment.

Even if the amendment is granted and the lawsuit proceeds, Gordon would be liable for the bill, Kendall said.

The itemized bill, dated Aug. 18, lists charges between April 2, 2014, and Aug. 13, 2015.

Charging as much as $350 an hour, the bill includes entries for phone calls, emails, letters, court appearances, mileage, postage and other expenses.

Eady said the bill probably will be an agenda item at the council’s next meeting. The meeting initially was set for Monday, but it was postponed due to the Labor Day holiday. The bill hasn’t been paid.

If the city doesn’t pay Kendall, he said he would file a claim against Cooper and his clients seeking to have them pay Whipple-Lue’s legal fees. Whipple-Lue took office as mayor of the town of about 2,000 residents in January 2014.

Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398.

This story was originally published September 6, 2015 at 10:28 PM with the headline "Gordon mayor’s lawyer submits nearly $95,000 invoice to city for his services ."