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Court upholds Springdale legal fund contract Friday, Oct 12, 2007 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - The state Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the city of Springdale's contract for legal services. The high court affirmed a circuit judge's dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the city's contract with the Arkansas Municipal League's legal defense fund program. It concluded the contract was legal and did not violate the rights of Springdale taxpayers. Springdale resident Linda Stromwall sued the city, arguing the contract involved spending public money with no guarantee taxpayers would get anything in return. Stromwall's lawsuit challenged not only the legality of the contract with the Municipal League, but also a $397,000 settlement between the city and firefighter Dean Bitner, who had sued the city claiming he was passed over for promotion because of his union activities and complaints about low pay. The Municipal League legal fund represented the city in the lawsuit and helped pay the settlement. In a unanimous decision Thursday, the Supreme Court said state law allows the city "to participate in an association, such as (Municipal League), for the promotion of the general welfare of the city and to join with other municipalities to purchase services." The league's legal defense program "is a subset of such an association and provides beneficial services, i.e. legal services, for the promotion of Springdale's general welfare," the court said. The expenditure of monies to settle the Bitner case was not an illegal exaction, as Stromwall contended, because the payment of a settlement was allowed under the terms and conditions of the legal defend program, the court said. |
