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Friday, January 16, 2009

Ind. Courts - Stiil more on Vanderburgh Little Hatch Act cases

Thomas B. Langhorne reports today in the Evansville Courier & Press in a lengthy story that begins:

A ruling on whether the local Republican Party owes a Democratic officeholder thousands of dollars in legal fees will hinge on arguments about the party's intentions.

After a hearing in Vanderburgh Circuit Court on Thursday, County Councilman Ed Bassemier's attorney said Bassemier is entitled to be reimbursed by the GOP for the approximately $12,000 he spent defending himself against a lawsuit Republicans ultimately dropped.

Bassemier had said he is owed $13,000, but attorney Robert W. Rock said he may claim reimbursement only for expenses incurred before the GOP filed to drop its suit.

Rock said that the Republican lawsuit, which alleged Bassemier was ineligible to seek office in 2008 under the Little Hatch Act, was supported by a "sloppy prefiling investigation" that failed to yield solid evidence.

"Ed feels he's being punished for this guy (GOP Chairman Nick Hermann, an attorney) not doing his homework," Rock said.

But Hermann said the party's lawsuit was filed in a good-faith effort to ferret out the truth and not to harass Bassemier.

"We had facts to back it up," Hermann said.

The Little Hatch Act limits the political activities of people whose jobs are funded at least in part by federal money. Bassemier is safety director at Evansville Regional Airport, which receives federal funds.

Hermann said earlier this month that the GOP dropped its lawsuit against Bassemier because he discovered that federal funds received by the airport are "loosely connected" to Bassemier and not "a substantial part of his job."

On Thursday, Hermann said the GOP had evidence that could have been explored had the party not decided to focus its efforts on pursuing a similar but stronger case against Democratic County Commissioner Steve Melcher.

For background, see this list of ILB entries.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 16, 2009 08:42 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts