Dispute continues over Crawford County library lawsuit legal costs

Because Crawford County officials “ignored good faith attempts” to resolve a lawsuit filed against the county’s library system for book censorship actions, the county should pay the legal fees, according to the plaintiff’s attorneys in the case.

U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III ruled Sept. 30 against Crawford County in a First Amendment lawsuit regarding the removal and relocation of books largely because of objections from citizens to LGBTQ content. Holmes ordered the books be returned to their original locations and plaintiff’s attorney fees be paid by the county. According to the court, the plaintiffs sought an award of $112,978.31, with $108,377.75 for attorneys fees and $4,600.56 for costs. The plaintiff’s attorneys are Terrance Cain of Little Rock and Brian Meadors of Memphis.

Plaintiffs filed a motion Oct. 29 asking the courts to make clear that the county cannot make threats to defund the library or force the library to pay the attorney fees. Crawford County Judge Chris Keith said in a response to the Oct. 29 filing that the library system has an obligation to pay legal fees.

“During the pendency of this litigation, the County provided a defense of all defendants because the suit was against them in their official capacities only. The defense of this action was paid for by funds held in the county’s general operating fund. However, there has never been a formal agreement that all litigation costs, expenses, and fee awards would be paid solely out of the county’s general fund,” Keith noted in the filing.

On Nov. 15, the plaintiff’s attorneys reminded all parties that county officials have been on record saying the county would pay legal costs.

“The Defendants attempt to wiggle out of that fact by saying there was “no formal agreement.” However, the County Judge promised that lawsuit costs would be borne by the County during a formal, public Quorum Court meeting, recorded on audio, and recorded in the minutes,” Cain and Meadors noted in the latest response.

The two attorneys provided this statement to Talk Business & Politics: “The case would have settled by now if it weren’t for the County’s insistence on defunding the library. We’d agreed on all other terms. Plaintiffs even agreed to delay payment until next year. But County leadership refused to settle unless it could defund the library. Obviously, we said no.”