Kaufman County authorizes contract negotiations for outside counsel in Justice Center construction dispute

Kaufman County Commissioners Court on Wednesday authorized county staff to enter contract negotiations with an outside law firm to serve as lead counsel in litigation involving the county Justice Center construction.

The court moved into executive session under Texas Government Code §551.071 to consult with counsel about pending litigation and returned to open session to make a public motion authorizing contract negotiations. The motion specified engaging a law firm identified in the meeting transcript as “Calhoun, Bellas in sequence” to serve as lead counsel for the county’s construction-related case. The motion was seconded and passed by voice vote; the court recorded that Judge Allen participated by phone and voted in favor.

The executive-session notice listed several pending or threatened matters: Price and White; Toombs and Kaufman County; Kaufman County and Texas General Mechanical; construction and renovation of county buildings; and potential claims involving the EEOC. No contract terms, fees or an explicit scope of work for the outside counsel were discussed during the public portion of the meeting.

County officials did not disclose the proposed fee arrangement or the timeline for negotiations in open court. County attorneys and commissioners said the action authorizes negotiations to begin; no final contract was presented or approved at the meeting.

The action follows the court’s closed-session review of litigation options. Commissioners said the next steps are to finalize terms with the selected firm and return to the court with a proposed agreement for approval if negotiations succeed.

A motion to adjourn followed later in the meeting.