Attorneys representing Peoria County in Auditor Jessica Thomas’ lawsuit filed a blistering objection to her lawyer’s Dec. 7 request for $42,087.50 in fees plus $766.64 in expenses, calling it an “exorbitant demand.”
“The County never agreed to such exorbitant and unprecedented fees,” writes James Sotos in his Dec. 27 response to Thomas lawyer Justin Penn’s request for payment, noting that Penn ended discussions by having “cavalierly waved his hand at Peoria County taxpayers, unilaterally declared an impasse, and stated, without explanation, that he would ‘not agree to the rate proposal.’ ”
Penn was appointed after Thomas’ first attorney left the case and two other lawyers were appointed but withdrew from representing her. In conflict-of-interest situations, courts must first seek public agencies to fill in at no cost to counties, but appointed attorneys from Marshall and Stark Counties petitioned to withdraw after speaking with Thomas. Patrick J. Murphy of Marshall County and Caroline Borden Campion of Stark County separately cited Illinois Court Rule 1.7, which prevents representation when a conflict of interest may exist.
Penn’s proposal isn’t justified by comparison to Thomas’ first lawyer, by legal fees in similar cases or by Penn’s expertise, Sotos adds.
“The requested rates dwarf those of defense counsel, … rates requested by [Penn’s] predecessor, … and the pro rata hourly rate of the State’s Attorney’s statutorily fixed salary ($92/hour),” the response says. “Penn’s requested rate of $375/hour far exceeds what his partners charge Cook County, Illinois, for municipal litigation services.
“Penn’s hubristic petition, which flouts express statutory guidance, is a myopic attempt to drain ever more taxpayer dollars from Peoria County,” it continues. “Penn deserves to be paid commensurate with the work he has performed, but nothing he has done deserves a rate that would more than quadruple that of the prosecutors in whose shoes he stands. Penn’s proposal dwarfs even standard municipal litigation rates.”
The County is offering Penn what it terms a “reasonable compromise” of $150/hour.
Also, according to the response filed by Sotos — also an outside attorney the County had to hire, at a rate of $250/hour — the County should not be required to pay “numerous billings” it characterizes as unexplained or unsupported.
Further, Sotos’ response on behalf of the County also questions the relevance of case citations Penn used in his request, and Penn’s expertise in similar work.
“Penn’s legal biography does not support a rate outpacing every other attorney in this litigation,” Sotos’ response says. “It appears he is an experienced financial services attorney, but there is no mention of municipal litigation on his [Hinshaw & Culbertson] profile. His history of defending corporate clients in lending, debt collection, and consumer finance lawsuits does not justify an aberrant rate in municipal litigation centered on election law, county budgeting and interoffice responsibility allocation. Penn has not himself done any such work.”
A separate case involving Thomas, which disputes issues in the recent referendum eliminating the office, had been scheduled for a Jan. 9 hearing on a motion to dismiss, but it was cancelled that morning. It’s now scheduled for Feb. 27.
Both cases are being considered by Judge Bruce Fehrenbacher, who took over the assignment when Judge James Mack was reassigned to Marshall, Putnam and Stark Counties.