Consent 8.
Regular Board of Supervisors Meeting
County Attorney
- Meeting Date:
- 09/11/2018
- Title:
- Approve the Retention of Roberta Livesay and her firm to represent Cochise County in any future solar energy cases.
- Submitted By:
- Susana Stark, County Attorney
- Department:
- County Attorney
Presentation:
No A/V Presentation
Recommendation:
Approve
Document Signatures:
BOS Signature Required
# of ORIGINALS
Submitted for Signature:
Submitted for Signature:
0
NAME
of PRESENTER:
of PRESENTER:
Elda Orduño
TITLE
of PRESENTER:
of PRESENTER:
County Attorney
Docket Number (If applicable):
Mandated Function?:
Federal or State Mandate
Source of Mandate
or Basis for Support?:
or Basis for Support?:
Information
Agenda Item Text:
Approve the retention of Roberta Livesay and her firm, Helm, Livesay, and Worthington, to represent Cochise County in any future solar energy cases filed by a plaintiff, including but not limited to the most recently filed case of Solar City et al. v. ADOR et al., TX2018-000905.
Background:
On June 5, 2018, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors approved the retention of Roberta Livesay and her firm, Helm, Livesay and Worthington, to represent Cochise County in tax appeal cases involving solar energy panels. The tax appeal cases include TX2014-000129, TX2014-000189, TX2015-000240, TX2016-000876, and TX2016-001025. The attorney’s fees and costs in these cases are being split between Cochise County and a number of other counties based on their share of the full cash value of leased solar panels in their respective counties. Cochise County’s share compared to the other counties is minimal at 0.6%. Should the Board approve the retention of Ms. Livesay and her firm for future cases, the attorney’s fees and costs will be split per the original agreement.
Department's Next Steps (if approved):
Upon approval by the Board, Counsel for the County will inform Ms. Livesay of her retention.
Impact of NOT Approving/Alternatives:
Should the Board disapprove the retention of Ms. Livesay and her firm, the County Attorney’s Office will represent the County in these matters. However, the cost to the County in terms of time and resources will be much more than if Ms. Livesay is retained based on the fee-splitting agreement among the counties. Furthermore, if the County Attorney’s office represents the County in this litigation, it will put a strain on the Civil Division because of the amount of time and resources required to defend these cases.
To BOS Staff: Document Disposition/Follow-Up:
Advise County Attorney's Office - Civil Division upon Board's approval.
Attachments
No file(s) attached.