Houston court bills still uncertain

HOUSTON — City officials here say they remain unsure how much they will pay in court costs arising from the dismissal of a former police chief.

A jury unanimously sided in November with the city in a lawsuit over the April 12, 2011 dismissal of then-police Capt. Charley McAnally. The trial, which concluded Nov. 18, had cost the city at least $118,000 in legal fees, and languished for years in court. Officials said shortly after the verdict was issued the bills they had received hadn’t included trial costs. That’s still true, according to city treasurer Carolyn Grabowski, who was originally listed among the defendants in McAnally’s suit, until presiding judge Kari Christiansen ruled that because she had no supervisory authority, she could not be sued in connection with McAnally’s termination.

Officials are still waiting for Christiansen’s signature approving the final judgment, said Mayor Virgie Thompson.

City officials had requested McAnally pay 50 percent of Houston’s attorneys fees, but could adjust that strategy moving forward, according to Thompson.

“A lot of it is based on us being able to sue for legal fees,” she said. “Once the judge signs the trial documents, there’s 30 days where everything is kind of up in the air. There’s 30 days for us to file an appeal. There are a lot of questions unanswered.”

Rule 82, subparagraph 2 of Alaska’s civil procedure allows for a client receiving no money judgment to recover 30 percent of the attorney’s fees associated with a case which goes to trial, according to the Alaska trial courts website.

However, Rule 82 subparagraph 3 provides for 11 conditions under which a court may amend the amount upward, including the complexity of litigation, the length of the trial, “vexatious or bad faith conduct,” or “other equitable factors deemed relevant,” the rule says in part. “If the court varies an award, the court shall explain the reasons for the variation.”

In the meantime, Houston has struggled to find money to finance its city police department, which remains shuttered.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269 or brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com.