Print friendly
E-mail story
Contact an Editor
iPod friendly
Comments
Bookmark This
del.icio.us.
Digg!
furl
google
newsvine
reddit
technorati
Facebook
Yahoo!Former Santa Barbara County Public Defender James Egar agreed to drop his harassment lawsuit against County CEO Mike Brown, filed two years ago. Details of the settlement are scarce, but Egar had charged that Brown had screamed in his face, spitting in the process, with the intention of humiliating Egar in front of other county administrators. Egar had been complaining that his department — which provides legal defense to those charged with criminal offenses — was so overwhelmed that his deputies and investigators were coming down sick from the stress. Brown opted to go outside the County Counsel’s office to secure legal representation. Although the amount spent on the representation is supposed to be a matter of public record, county spokesperson William Boyer declined to state how much the county spent on Brown’s defense.
Double-clicking on any word or phrase in this story will open a reference window with definitions and links to other reference material.
Previous Month
Comments
Discussion Guidelines
Why won't the County release the PUBLIC INFORMATION about the cost of this lawsuit. Which I'm sure involved hundreds of thousands of dollats, just like other county-taxpayer-paid defenses of "CEO" MIKE BROWN.
Demand the release of this public information. Email your Supervisor, and County auditor BOB GEIS who we ELECTED to serve the Public--not his buddy Mike Brown.
BOB GEIS: geis@co.santa-barbara.ca.us
sbsleuth99 (anonymous profile)
June 28, 2008 at 9:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Jim Egar dismissed his case. He took nothing by his complaint. He proved no meritorious cause of action – no contract, tort, or employment or civil rights law violation. Judge Anderle, after dismissing the whole case on demurrer, gave Mr. Egar an opportunity to develop evidence to support an amended claim that Mike Brown acted unlawfully. The voluntary dismissal follows discovery, including Mr. Brown’s deposition. One can reasonably conclude that the plaintiff got just what he deserved.
The County had to defend itself and Mr. Brown in court. Under the Government Code, the county counsel represents the county and its officers in litigation unless the board of supervisors determines to retain outside counsel.
The Board of Supervisors, not CEO Brown, retained outside counsel. This was occasioned when plaintiff Egar named the county counsel as a percipient witness to events alleged in the complaint. (This turned out to be inconsequential.) The county counsel's office was co-counsel for the defense of the County and Brown.
The county’s privilege to withhold information on litigation normally ceases when the litigation ends. This finality occurs when the dismissal is filed with the court. After a case is final, county records that show time spent on the litigation by county employees and outside counsel may be obtained from the Auditor, CEO or County Counsel upon proper request. (This assumes disclosure would not violate privacy rights or other privileges.)
A voluntary dismissal avoids trial costs and appeals and affords repose. It is good this case ended as it did. Onward.
ShaneStark (anonymous profile)
June 28, 2008 at 3:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Post a comment