BRADENTON, Fla. — Jefferson County, Ala., plans to bring its out-of-state attorneys back to assist with three appeals of its municipal bankruptcy case.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn on Oct. 30 approved the county's motion allowing attorney Kenneth Klee, a founding partner at California-based Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern LLP, to appear in court on behalf of the county along with two other partners at the firm.
Klee, Tuchin, and Birmingham-based attorneys represented the county in the Chapter 9 bankruptcy case that was filed in November 2011.
Since the county emerged from bankruptcy in December, local attorneys have appeared in court to handle three appeals.
The three appeals were filed by Calvin Grigsby on behalf of a local group of residents and elected officials, known as the Bennett ratepayers.
According to court records, the county sought additional representation from the Klee, Tuchin firm after Blackburn ruled in early October that the appeals would go forward.
In one case, the judge questioned the constitutionality of a premise the county used to close on $1.8 billion in 40-year sewer refunding warrants as part of its Chapter 9 confirmation plan in order to write down $3.1 billion in related debt. The refunding warrants were sold last December.
Blackburn's ruling said some portions of the bankruptcy plan may not be undone, but she had the authority to consider whether it was legal to allow the bankruptcy court to retain jurisdiction over the case in order to ensure that the county sets sewer rates that will service the outstanding debt.
The county moved to appeal that ruling to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which is pending before Blackburn.
Grigsby opposed the county's request to appeal on Oct. 23, and said in a court filing that the county failed to meet its burden to prove "that exceptional circumstances exist to justify piecemeal appeals in this case."
Grigsby also said the county's appeal is premature because the court has not ruled on any of the issues on appeal.
County commissioners David Carrington and Jimmie Stephens issued a joint statement in mid-October saying that regardless of the appeal's outcome that the county fully intended to comply with its obligations to service the new sewer warrants.
