Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp is claiming in court that County Attorney Rheubin Taylor has operated a "shadow law firm" by conducting private work on county time.
Wamp also says Taylor directed his employees to no longer attend county staff meetings and to ignore orders from the mayor following Wamp's attempt to fire Taylor last month.
Those allegations were made in a counterclaim filed Wednesday in Chancery Court by Wamp's attorneys.
"In view of your recent statement to the press wherein you stated your belief that our entire 'office is conflicted,' as well as Chief of Staff (Claire) McVay's text message to Assistant County Attorney R. Dee Hobbs wherein she stated, '... I have concerns about anyone in your office advising anyone right now,' none of the attorneys of our office will be present at your staff meetings," Taylor wrote in a memo to Wamp on Oct. 24, which was included as an attachment in the filing made Wednesday. "We continue to provide legal assistance to any and all departments of Hamilton County government."
On Oct. 31, Taylor filed a lawsuit against Wamp asking the court to determine that the mayor lacks the unilateral authority to fire the county attorney and that Taylor's four-year contract, which went into effect in 2021 and extends through June 2025, is valid. Because Wamp has since reinstated Taylor's status as county attorney, the filing Wamp made Wednesday claims Taylor's lawsuit is now moot.
Wamp's filing also states the county attorney's office used public funds to retain at least three private law firms at the cost of more than $1 million to represent county employees. Those expenses violated county purchasing authority, court records claim.
"Taylor flaunted both the County Commission and the county mayor's authority by utilizing private law firms with public funds without seeking approval from anyone to retain these private firms for matters the county attorney's office should have handled," Wamp's filing says. "All the while, Taylor was able to continue to maintain his private practice of law and draw his Hamilton County salary."
The filing alleges the attorney's office has run over budget by more than $1 million between 2018 and 2022. Additionally, it states Taylor has been the counsel of record in about 200 cases since his hiring in 1993 "where he was neither bringing a case on behalf of the county nor defending the county, all while being paid as a full-time employee and during county hours of operation."
Wamp is asking the court to declare that Taylor's contract is unenforceable and that the mayor has the authority to terminate Taylor. Additionally, the mayor is seeking a temporary restraining order prohibiting Taylor from "continuing to direct his staff to ignore the mayor's office."
The mayor is also requesting that the court enter an injunction prohibiting Taylor from acting as a legal advocate on behalf of the county, appearing in the county attorney's office in any official capacity and engaging private counsel to represent county employees without OK from the County Commission and mayor.
Wamp's legal counsel also submitted a motion Wednesday asking that the "court" recuse itself and that the matter be assigned to a special judge without a connection to the county or the parties involved. Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton has been hearing the issue.
"Mayor Wamp shows that this court's attendance at the meetings of the County Commission in which the issues to be litigated in this case were discussed raises an appearance of impropriety as the court now has personal knowledge of one of the key events giving rise to this dispute," the motion reads.
County government has been embroiled in a legal fiasco since Wamp attempted to fire Taylor in October, citing the destruction of public records, breach of attorney-client privilege and private work Taylor conducted on county time. Wamp has claimed he has the legal authority to terminate Taylor.
After initially revoking Taylor's access to his equipment and halting his pay, Wamp restored Taylor's employment after the Hamilton County Commission issued a deadline for the mayor to enforce a series of resolutions it passed to protect the county attorney. Taylor is receiving back pay. His annual salary is about $180,000.
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Taylor's attorney, Neil Thomas, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.
In a statement, Wamp's spokeswoman, Mary Francis Hoots, said the mayor's office had a Nov. 30 deadline to respond to Taylor's lawsuit.
"The mayor's response to Mr. Taylor's suit asserts Mayor Wamp's clear authority and obligation under state law to appoint all department heads, which, in this case, would include Mr. Taylor, who is, unquestionably, the head of Hamilton County's legal department," Hoots said. "The response also substantiates the mayor's position that incident to the right and obligation to appoint, is the authority to terminate. It is not the mayor's intention to seek to remove Mr. Taylor from the office by way of an injunction prior to the conclusion of this lawsuit."
Separately, Hoots said, the office's response also summarizes "extensive evidence" the mayor's office has identified as justification for firing Taylor for cause.
"Mayor Wamp worked tirelessly for weeks to find a resolution with the commission and Mr. Taylor that would have avoided protracted litigation," Hoots said. "Mr. Taylor, however, was uninterested and unwilling to consider a resolution outside of court. Our primary objective is to seek an expeditious court ruling on the county mayor's authority before a judge outside of Hamilton County."
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249. Follow him on Twitter @flavid_doyd.