Politics & Government
Marietta Council Seeks Attorney Fees
A newly adopted policy says the city attorney will review lawsuits against the city and ask a judge to award attorney fees if the suit is frivolous or overly litigious.
The Marietta City Council adopted a policy Wednesday night regarding enforcement of attorney fees for frivolous lawsuits filed against the city.
The policy says the city attorney will review lawsuits against the city and ask a judge to award attorney fees if the suit is deemed frivolous or overly litigious.
Mayor Steve Tumlin said he believed the policy fairly sought to mitigate costs and recover attorney fees through reimbursement from the plaintiff.
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City attorney Doug Haynie will now review cases, including existing ones like the one , whose lawsuit cost the city $89,523 and was dismissed by Cobb Superior Court on June 28.
Tumlin said he believes the city deserves attorney fees from Goldstein; Goldstein declined to comment.
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The vote was 4-1-1, with Johnny Sinclair opposed, Goldstein abstaining and Annette Lewis absent.
In other business, two presentations were made during the meeting.
Francine M. Wilkins was presented a service award for her almost 20 years of service on the Marietta Civil Service Board.
Also, Phyllis Gingrey Collins was sworn in as a Municipal Associate Judge.
In zoning matters, Cynthia Patton, a local attorney who sought a rezoning request for 269 Cole Street, was denied. Patton’s desire to turn the residential property into a family law practice was thought not consistent with area planning, so the council voted alongside the planning commission’s denial recommendation.
Also, the request by Glenn Drake to rezone 155 Montgomery St. from a three unit per acre property to a four unit per acre property was tabled until next month’s meeting.
Finally, Goldstein asked for an executive session to further discuss a last minute development in a collapsed storm water pipe on Wright Street that had been discussed in the pre-council meeting, but he changed his mind and voted against putting it on the
agenda because of the last minute nature of the information and the questions surrounding the policy.
Tumlin announced he would call a special meeting within the next 72 hours to address the issue.
