Oak Ridge Today

Tennessee Court of Appeals affirms dismissal of ouster suit filed against AC law director

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Jay Yeager and Lynn Byrge

Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager, left, the defendant in an ouster suit filed by a group of residents, is pictured with Lynn Byrge, one of the petitioners in the complaint, during an Anderson County Commission meeting in July 2014. (File photo)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 3:25 p.m.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals on Thursday affirmed the decision of a trial court to dismiss an ouster complaint filed against Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager.

Twenty-two Anderson County residents tried to remove Yeager, who was appointed law director in September 2006, from his office under Tennessee’s ouster law. The complaint was originally filed in Anderson County Chancery Court in May 2014 and amended the next month.

The Anderson County Chancery Court issued an order granting Yeager’s motion to dismiss on September 22, 2014, but the case was appealed. On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the court, which heard oral arguments in April, upheld the trial court’s decision to grant the motion to dismiss, which was issued by Special Judge Don R. Ash.

“I deeply appreciate the County Commission and the Legal Services Advisory Committee for their continued support and confidence during these very difficult times for myself and my family,” Yeager said Thursday morning. [Read more…]

Anderson committee approves third-party review of law director’s office

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Legal Services Advisory Committee Meeting

Resident Larry Ownby, right, addresses the Legal Services Advisory Committee on Monday.

 

Note: This story was updated at 11:57 a.m.

CLINTON—An Anderson County committee on Monday agreed to conduct a third-party review of the county law director’s office. But the move didn’t appear to be enough to satisfy those who have sought to have the law director removed from office.

The review was unanimously approved by the Legal Services Advisory Committee on a voice vote after hearing from a handful of residents, including the man who has helped lead the ouster effort. Some of those who spoke continued to raise concerns about Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager, including some charges that appeared to be new, while others said they supported Yeager and have not been persuaded by the arguments or complaints against him.

The third-party review was proposed by Anderson County Commissioner Myron Iwanski.

“I’m not accusing Jay of anything,” said Iwanski, who modeled his proposal after a recent resolution to review turnover, morale, and administrative policies in the Oak Ridge Police Department. “It’s not an investigation. We’re just getting a review of practices.” [Read more…]

AC Legal Services Advisory Committee meets this evening

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The Anderson County Legal Services Advisory Committee will meet on Monday, February 23, at 5 p.m. in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

This meeting will be for any other issues, not included in the ouster suit submission or its appeal, which is now before the state courts, that the public or any committee member wishes to address to the committee regarding the Anderson County Legal Services Advisory Committee and its responsibilities.

Inputs to the committee required written submission in advance (not less than 48 hours prior to the meeting) to allow review before the meeting, or be approved by a majority vote to be added to the agenda at the beginning of the meeting, a meeting notice said.

Issues involving the law director may be included as long as they are not already included the Ouster court case documents, the notice said.

Ouster suit petitioners, attorney have Q&A session Tuesday

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Lynn Byrge

Lynn Byrge

CLINTON—The petitioners in the ouster suit against Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager will have a question-and-answer session with their attorney Gregory Brown in Clinton on Tuesday.

The session will be held at the Clinton Community Center at 6 p.m. Tuesday, October 21, a press release said. The session will be open to the public and to the media.

A group of 22 Anderson County citizens have appealed a special judge’s decision to dismiss their ouster lawsuit against Yeager. Petitioners have asked their attorney to answer questions regarding the case and the appeal, the release said. [Read more…]

Special judge appointed in ouster suit

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Don R. Ash

Don R. Ash

A special judge has been appointed to hear the ouster suit filed against the Anderson County law director in May, and hearing dates will be discussed with attorneys in the case during an August 19 telephone conference, officials said.

Senior Judge Don R. Ash of Murfreesboro was appointed to hear the case by Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Gary Wade, said Michele Wojciechowski, communications director for the Tennessee State Courts.

Ash is a former judge in Rutherford County, and he is assigned to cases throughout the state that need a special judge. [Read more…]

Fritts: Ouster statute does not apply to Anderson County law director

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Chuck Fritts, Myron Iwanski, and Dusty Irwin

Anderson County Commission Chair Chuck Fritts, left, is pictured above with commissioners Myron Iwanski, center, and Dusty Irwin. Citing an opinion from the County Technical Assistance Service, Fritts on Wednesday said the ouster statute does not apply to the Anderson County law director, the defendant in a controversial ouster suit.

 

The ouster statute does not apply to the Anderson County law director, the defendant in a controversial ouster suit, Anderson County Commission Chair Chuck Fritts said Wednesday.

Law Director Jay Yeager is essentially a county employee rather than an official, and the ouster statute doesn’t apply to him, said Fritts, citing the opinion of a legal consultant at the University of Tennessee’s County Technical Assistance Service in Nashville.

Citing the CTAS opinion, Fritts said the petitioners who brought the ouster suit against Yeager should pay the legal costs if they lose. The county could pay Yeager’s legal fees if the ouster suit fails or is thrown out of court.

In an opinion sent to Fritts on July 29, CTAS Legal Consultant Stephen Austin said the Anderson County law director is a county employee and not a county officer.

“Accordingly, the ouster statutes are not applicable to the law director,” Austin said. Yeager made a similar argument in a July 11 motion to dismiss filed in Anderson County Chancery Court. [Read more…]

2014 Election: Commission candidates talk ouster, taxes

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During a forum earlier this month, a half-dozen Oak Ridge candidates running for Anderson County Commission said they support the county’s law director, the defendant in a controversial ouster suit, while four others said they are reserving judgement.

A few candidates said the county’s property tax rate ought to be lowered, while others argued that officials have done a good job of holding the rate as low as possible.

Several agreed that the county needs to work on attracting more jobs, affordable housing, and retail.

All five of the incumbents seeking re-election in Oak Ridge’s three County Commission districts face challengers in the August 7 election. Voters will elect two commissioners in each district.

The most crowded race is District 7, where incumbent Jerry Creasey is seeking re-election but Commissioner John Shuey is not. There are six candidates in that race. Besides Creasey, they include Jimmy Bouchard, Mike Marsh, Denny Phillips, Kevin Rice, and Theresa Scott.

District 7 includes the Glenwood, Highland View, and Pine Valley voting precincts in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Irwin: Frank may have to hire commission attorney in Yeager ouster suit

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Chuck Fritts, Myron Iwanski, and Dusty Irwin

Anderson County Commissioner Dusty Irwin, right, has proposed a special meeting to possibly repeal an approved motion made last week by Commissioner Myron Iwanski, center, that covers legal fees for current and former county employees in the ouster suit filed against Law Director Jay Yeager. Also pictured is Anderson County Commission Chair Chuck Fritts.

 

Jay Yeager and Terry Frank

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, right, and Law Director Jay Yeager have been embroiled in several high-profile disputes, including over an ouster suit filed in May in Chancery Court.

Irwin says he’s willing to consider options

CLINTON—Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank may be the only person authorized to hire an attorney to represent county commissioners responding to subpoenas or other legal notices filed in the ouster suit against Law Director Jay Yeager, a commissioner said Monday.

That means a motion approved 13-2 by the Anderson County Commission last week might have to be repealed, said Commissioner Dusty Irwin, whose district includes Norris and Andersonville. That motion allows each commissioner to hire their own attorney and bill the county, Irwin said.

He said his recommendation this week is based on his interpretation of state law and attorney general’s opinions. He’s called for a special meeting to repeal last week’s motion by Commissioner Myron Iwanski, who represents part of Oak Ridge and is former interim county mayor, and consider a new motion that asks Frank to find and hire an attorney to replace Yeager in the case.

“Although I am no lawyer, the attached seems clear that the commission cannot authorize or hire legal counsel in the absence of a law director, and our law director (Jay Yeager) has stated to the commission that he cannot represent or advise us on the ouster suit he is currently involved in,” Irwin said in a Monday e-mail forwarded to commissioners and the media. “Also, it appears to me that only the the county mayor can perform this hiring action and that the commission may only approve the expenditure by a majority vote.”

It’s not clear if other commissioners will agree. Iwanski was unavailable for comment Tuesday morning. [Read more…]

County officials urged to hire attorneys in ouster suit as legal fees rise

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Jay Yeager and Lynn Byrge

Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager, left, the defendant in an ouster suit filed by a group of residents, is pictured with Lynn Byrge, one of the petitioners, during a Monday morning Anderson County Commission meeting.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:06 a.m. July 22.

CLINTON—The legal fees in a few high-profile disputes between top Anderson County officials could approach a half-million dollars, and Anderson County commissioners should all seek their own legal counsel in an ouster lawsuit filed against the law director, stunned commissioners were told Monday.

Subpoenas have already been issued in the ouster suit, and several officials, including a few County Commissioners, have reportedly received letters asking them to waive their attorney-client privilege.

Anderson County Commissioner Myron Iwanski, who is former interim mayor, said some of the records he’s been asked to provide go back 10 years, and some of them are personnel records. Iwanski said he needs legal representation because he doesn’t want to disclose anything improper, a mistake that could lead to another lawsuit.

“It’s about trying to do what’s right for the county,” Iwanski said.

He said former Anderson County Jail Administrator Avery Johnson has also been served with a subpoena and will need legal representation.

“This is just the start of the legal battle,” Iwanski said. [Read more…]