A lawsuit against Black Diamond looks to be nearing the end of the road.
Early last month, Washington state’s Supreme Court declined to review the case of Jane Koler, Anne Bremner, and Daniel Glenn v. the city and Mayor Carol Benson, a suit that looks to be one of the last vestiges of the chaos that came out of the 2016-2018 council.
The Courier-Herald has chronicled the events that led up to the lawsuit in previous articles, but the long and short of it is that during those two years, a previous city council and Benson locked horns over who had the power to hire and fire legal counsel for the city overall: the former majority, made up of Council members Pat Pepper, Brian Weber, and Erika Morgan, wanted their own legal counsel, and attempted many times to secure it while at the same time tried to dismiss counsel hired by Benson; Benson argued only she, as the city’s executive, can hire or fire the city’s attorneys, and flatly refused to pay any attorneys the council majority attempted to retain.
Three lawyers hired by Pepper, Weber, and Morgan — Koler, Bremner, and Glenn — filed the lawsuit in 2019 to force the city to pay them for services rendered. According to the 2019 complaint, Glenn billed the city nearly $14,000; Koler, over $31,000; and Bremner, close to $46,000. Koler has since walked back her claim to around $15,000.
The case was initially a loss for the trio, as the King County Superior Court awarded summary judgement (meaning the judge came to a decision without the case going to trial) to Black Diamond, ruling the plaintiffs pay Black Diamond its attorney and legal fees.
But the Court of Appeals reversed the decision in Koler, Bremner, and Glenn’s favor, not only ruling Black Diamond should pay the plaintiff’s various fees, but overtly criticizing the city’s position regarding its sole power to retain and dismiss legal counsel; Judge Beth Andrus wrote in her opinion that “the mayor lacked the legal authority” to deny the council majority’s decision to fire a city attorney or to deny payment to attorneys the council hired, and even opined that Benson may have been “unjustly enriched” by using city funds to retain the counsel of her choice.
Black Diamond appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court with council approval, but Chief Justice Gonzáles and Justices Charles Johnson, Debra Stephens, Mary Yu, and Helen Whitener declined to review the case on May 3.
Bremner said in a later interview that she was pleased to see the state Supreme Court denied a review of the case.
“The Court of Appeals decision was very impressive, in terms of its concise and accurate analysis, and in terms of the conclusions reached,” she continued, adding that the next step for determining if she and her co-plaintiffs are owed payment for services rendered, as well as legal fees, is a trial. “That should happen in the near short-term.”
That, of course, is somewhat dependent on if Black Diamond wants to even go to trial.
In related news, the city council approved a lawsuit settlement with Talmadge, Fitzpatrick, and Tribe (now just Talmadge/Fitzpatrick), another law firm that was dragged into the council drama six years ago and was not paid for its services.
Talmadge filed a lawsuit early February 2022 in regards to a breach of contract, specifically citing the success in the Koler, Bremner, and Glenn case, asking the King County Superior Court for a sum of $18,000 plus 1 percent interest per month since July 29, 2016 — a total nearing $36,000 — and 1 percent per month after judgement, until relief is paid.
But it appears the city council settled for just $25,000, according to vouchers approved during the May 19 meeting.
Talmadge/Fitzpatrick declined to comment on the settlement.
The Courier-Herald also reached out to Benson and City Attorney David Linehan for comment on the denied review, but did not receive a response by print deadline.
