Walker County ordered to pay former judge’s legal expenses

The Georgia Court of Appeals ordered Walker County to pay the attorneys’ fees for Bruce Roberts, the former state court judge who had to defend “frivolous” lawsuits pursued by the county.

In a ruling Monday, the justices said the county owes $31,000 to Roberts for defending three claims brought against him by former Commissioner Bebe Heiskell. The county might owe more money, though. The Court of Appeals ruled that Roberts is due attorneys’ fees for defending a fourth claim that Heiskell brought against him.

In September 2011, Gov. Nathan Deal appointed Roberts to the Walker County State Court bench. Heiskell paid Roberts $100,000 a year, about $70,000 shy of the salary for his predecessor, Donald Peppers.

In July 2012, Roberts lost his re-election. He then sued the county, claiming he was illegally underpaid because of how much Peppers earned. Heiskell, in turn, filed a countersuit.

Among her claims, she said Roberts inflicted emotional distress upon Sheriff Steve Wilson by dismissing many of the traffic tickets written by deputies.

In 2014, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled against Roberts. However, the justices also ruled that Heiskell’s counterclaims against Roberts were frivolous. The justices said the county had to pay for Roberts’ legal representation for defending those claims.

In November 2015, a judge in Walker County ruled that the county had to pay $31,000 to Roberts. The county balked, but on Monday the Court of Appeals sided with Roberts.

The justices also ruled the county owes Roberts money for his legal representation on one more counterclaim that Heiskell filed. The former commissioner argued that she had actually overpaid Roberts because the county’s base salary for the state court judge position is $60,000, or $40,000 less than what she paid him.

The Court of Appeals ruled there was no legal basis for that argument. As a result, Roberts should not have had to pay his attorney to defend against the claim.

Larry Salmon, a senior judge who still moonlights in local courts, now will decide how much money Roberts paid attorney Arch Farrar to defend that specific argument.

Roberts and Farrar did not comment on the ruling because the last element of the case is still pending. David Cunningham, an attorney hired to represent Walker County, is not in the office this week and did not return an email seeking comment Wednesday.

Heiskell lost her re-election bid to Shannon Whitfield in November and has been out of office since January. A spokesman for Whitfield said Wednesday he was not sure whether the county will appeal the latest ruling to the Georgia Supreme Court.

Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress. com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.