Clayton County taxpayers will pay an Atlanta law firm up to $500 an hour for representation in a federal employment lawsuit involving former Sheriff Victor Hill after the last-minute dismissal of the county’s previous counsel.
The Clayton Commission on Tuesday agreed to hire Nelson Mullins to represent the sheriff’s office in pending litigation with Kyetha Sweeting, a former corrections officer who says she was unfairly fired in 2019 while Hill was still sheriff.
The sheriff’s office had been represented by Freeman Mathis & Gary, but the Atlanta firm withdrew last Friday at the request of Clayton County Sheriff Levon Allen, according to filings with the U.S. District Court in Atlanta. Allen, who succeeded Hill, has been named in the litigation in his official capacity as sheriff.
The trial was set to begin later this month, but has been postponed because of the change in legal representation.
“The firm Freeman Mathis & Gary was no longer able to represent Sheriff Allen,” county attorney Charles Reed told the board after a question arose about the pay Tuesday. “And because of the short time frame ... the judge has mandated the county find counsel for Sheriff Allen.”
Clayton will pay Nelson Mullins $500 an hour if a partner in the firm represents the county, or $300 if an associate is handling the case, Reed said.
Commissioner Gail Hambrick voted in favor of the pay, but told Reed she wanted him to explain the cost to the public.
“I would like to have something on the record to say why that amount was so much,” Hambrick said.
The trial, which has been put on the Nov. 6 calendar for District Court Judge J.P. Boulee, will include testimony from Hill, who is serving an 18-month prison sentence in Arkansas. A federal jury in October convicted the longtime sheriff of ordering staff to strap the detainees to restraint chairs as punishment, a misuse of the devices.
Sweeting’s lawsuit claims the sheriff’s office violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when the department dismissed her in January 2019, despite repeated requests for accommodations for a neurological disorder that caused debilitating migraine headaches.
About the Author
