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Putnam County Legislature appoints outside counsel amid dispute over court stay and retaliation claims
Summary
Putnam County legislators voted Dec. 10 to retain outside counsel for litigation involving the legislature, after heated debate over whether the vote violated a court stay and accusations that the county executive’s actions were retaliatory.
The Putnam County Legislature voted on Dec. 10 to appoint outside counsel to represent the legislature in litigation brought by the county executive, amid a contentious debate over whether the move conflicts with an existing court stay.
The chair moved to amend the draft resolution to replace the originally named law firm with a different municipal litigation firm led by attorney Dan Hollis; the amendment was seconded and approved by roll call. Supporters argued the legislature has the charter authority to select independent counsel for a specific case. “We now have a suit that we want to hire outside counsel for, which we should have every right to,” the chair said during debate.
Why it matters: supporters said the county attorney has not engaged with the legislature since May and that appointing…
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