Jackson Falconer
BRADENTON – At their meeting on Tuesday, the Manatee County Commission will vote on retaining independent counsel regarding the legal battle shaping up between Commissioner Robin DiSabatino on one side, and the county as well as Chief Assistant County Attorney Robert Eschenfelder on the other.
The vote comes after last month's no-vote by commissioners to decide whether the county should give DiSabatino reimbursement for legal fees incurred by fighting a public records lawsuit filed by Sarasota attorney assistant Michael Barfield. The outcome of the board not voting on the item leaves DiSabatino with two options: either pay the fees herself, or go to court to seek collection of the fees by the county.
The issue stems from Barfield's public record requests for specific search terms for DiSabatino's emails. DiSabatino was unable to produce many emails related to the request, telling county attorneys that a technical error was apparently causing said emails to self-delete.
After Barfield then demanded a cloned copy of DiSabatino's hard drive for inspection, the county hired an independent technician to securely go through said cloned drive off-site. Barfield would go on to proceed with litigation, which he would dismiss after assistant county attorney Eschenfelder authorized that Barfield be given a cloned copy of DiSabatino's drive, but without her knowledge.
Eschenfelder has argued that because the commissioner had previously stated that she "had nothing to hide" in regards to information on her hard drive, the handing over of a cloned copy to Barfield was justified.
At the board's May 25 meeting, attorney Ralf Brookes, representing DiSabatino, argued that the county covering the commissioner's legal fees would be justified as all public records requested in the case were provided, and, "There was no wrongdoing found. This case was settled without an admission of wrongdoing, and it was dismissed, with prejudice, meaning it can never be brought forward again."
A policy of covering commissioners' legal expenses incurred from fighting lawsuits that came about through something that was said or done while acting as a commissioner, either out of office or in office, is in place. During the BOCC's May meeting, county attorney Mickey Palmer argued that DiSabatino's legal fees in the specified case should not be covered by the county, due to what he called a good faith effort to follow specifics of the law. "There are occasions when it is painful for me to say no. Time will be the judge, but this case might be the most painful of them all," said Palmer.
County legal counsel has recommended that the named plaintiffs in the case be defended by Tampa firm Trenam Law, and that Eschenfelder would make separate arrangements with the same firm for his own representation.
While the item's vote is slated to happen through approval of the meeting's consent agenda, public comment will be allowed on consent items.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the County Administration Building's commission chambers, located at 1112 Manatee Avenue West in Bradenton.
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