A written ruling on whether all five counts in Jefferson County Assessor Gloria Tillman’s lawsuit against County Judge Gerald Robinson should be dismissed will be issued Monday.
Special Judge William “Randy” Wright, who is presiding over the case in 11th West Circuit Court, set the date at the end of a hearing Wednesday. The hearing came after Tillman’s lawyer, Luther Sutter of Little Rock, added Tillman’s daughter Morgan as a plaintiff and brought two new counts against Robinson in an amended complaint filed July 1, the day of the original hearing.
Sutter is seeking to have the case certified as a class-action lawsuit. “The judge gave us a fair hearing. I’m sure he’s going to do the best that he can,” Sutter said.
The county judge is accused of failing to pay the plaintiffs’ wages due following a withholding of payment April 30-May 1; converting wages due; taking the money without just compensation; withdrawing $198,981.74 in order to pay bills without prior approval from the Quorum Court; and attempting to fire Morgan Tillman, who works in the assessor’s office . Morgan Tillman seeks a declaratory judgment that she is properly employed, as well as an injunction for her access card to be reinstated.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Robinson claims Morgan Tillman was hired in violation of a 2003 county nepotism ordinance that bans those of a first-degree relationship to an elected official from working directly under that official. Gloria Tillman has claimed Morgan does not work directly under her.
The dispute over the legality of the hiring, along with Robinson’s stance that former assessor Yvonne Humphrey, who works in Gloria Tillman’s office, should not be paid for 675 hours of sick leave, led to Robinson’s order to withhold their paychecks. Instead, most of the 400-plus county employees did not receive their checks as scheduled April 30.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages exceeding $750,000, with a 6% interest on the payroll.
On Wednesday, defense attorney Casey Castleberry of Little Rock stated his case as to why each of the charges should be dismissed.
He told Wright he could not find any statute that would require Robinson to approve payments April 30 or May 1.
In addition to the proper authorization allegation in the fourth count, Robinson is accused of authorizing $70,000 for cleaning services that did not take place and purchasing 25 cellphones for non-county employees. Robinson is also accused of wasting more than $300,000 in public money by incurring attorney’s fees and costs from his own and opposing counsel.
“I just hope Gerald’s learned a lesson,” Sutter said. “He’s not king. He’s got to abide by the Constitution. When people work for public entities, the Constitution requires them to be paid.”
In order to sustain the plaintiffs’ claim of paying bills and fees without proper authorization, Castleberry argued, the plaintiff would have to prove a public official spent those funds in an illegal manner. Castleberry also stated it is beyond dispute that Morgan Tillman is employed by her mother.
“We appreciate Judge Wright’s time and attention and look forward to receiving his ruling soon,” Castleberry said.