Nation - Alabama Judge won't dismiss suit over Governor Riley's legal fees

By Bob Johnson Associated Press Writer MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- A judge refused Monday to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to force Gov. Bob Riley to pay $78,000 in fees to a law firm hired by a legislative committee to sue him. The Legislature's Contract Review Committee had sued last year to stop Riley from continuing with a $13 million computer contract with Paragaon Source, a company without a business phone listing or website. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Tom King dismissed it saying that the committee did not have standing to bring it. The governor then refused to pay the lawyers after King threw out the lawsuit. The law firm of Thomas, Means, Gillis and Seay sued to force the governor to pay and Riley filed a motion asking King to throw out that lawsuit. King refused that motion by attorneys for Riley and state Comptroller Thomas White. The U.S. Justice Department is investigating a complaint by Alabama's senior black legislator, Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, that the governor refused to pay the legal fees because most of the firm's attorneys are black. King said in his ruling that he hopes those charges are false. "The governor of this great state should treat all races and ethnicities equally be they majority or minority, favored or disfavored," King said in the ruling. He scheduled a hearing for Sept. 30 on the lawsuit and an attorney for the law firm said he planned to get a statement from the governor. Riley's communications director, Jeff Emerson, said Monday "there's no reason taxpayers should have to pay" for the original lawsuit. He said King had ruled initially that the legislative committee didn't have the legal authority to sue the governor. He said the law firm has been paid more than $8 million during the Riley administration for work on other legal matters. Tyrone Means, an attorney with the firm, said Monday the lawsuit could end up costing the state more than if the governor had paid the legal fees in the beginning. Published: Wed, Sep 1, 2010

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