U.S. Rep. Tom Graves' deposition Tuesday in a business lawsuit was rescheduled for a second time to next month, according to his chief of staff.
One of the attorneys involved asked for the deposition to be postponed because of a death in his family, according to Tim Baker, Graves' chief of staff. He said he did not know when the deposition would take place and could not comment further.
Graves, a Republican from Ranger, Ga., was scheduled to give a deposition in Atlanta on Tuesday as part of a lawsuit filed by Bartow County Bank, which also names state Sen. Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock.
The suit alleges that a business run by Graves and Rogers defaulted on a loan for $2.25 million and that Graves moved some of his property to trust to make it more difficult for the bank to collect.
A counterclaim filed by Graves and Rogers in March states the bank had allowed the company, Tich Hospitalities, to refinance the loan in November. They say the bank then reneged on the agreement.
A deposition is sworn, recorded testimony that is used during the fact-finding portion of a case. The lawmakers initially were scheduled to give a deposition on June 30, but the date was rescheduled for Tuesday.
Baker said Graves was spending time with his family and was unavailable for comment.
Rogers was traveling in Washington, but he sent a brief written statement through staffers.
"The deposition involves a business in which I have no ownership interest," he said, adding that he had no additional comment on the case.
Staff members at Rogers' office said they had no more information on the case and that it was a "personal legal matter."
For complete details, see tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press.