A federal judge has determined that the city of Alexandria was within its rights to terminate attorney Bridgett Brown from the city's fraud litigation against Cleco Corp.
U.S. District Magistrate Judge C. Michael Hill ruled that City Attorney Chuck Johnson had the right, under the city's Home Rule Charter, to terminate Brown. She had signed a contingency fee agreement with the city in July 2005 to serve as special counsel in the City of Alexandria v. Cleco Corp., a nine-count fraud lawsuit filed June 22, 2005. Brown was to receive 10 percent of any favorable ruling received by the city, but Johnson terminated Brown's contract in February 2007.
The city settled the lawsuit this month with a new electricity contract which, the city says, includes $50.7 million in "settlement value" and requires the city to drop the litigation.
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Information from: Alexandria Daily Town Talk, http://www.thetowntalk.com
