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June 10, 2010

Depositions in water lawsuit postponed

By Benjamin Bullard The Cullman Times

CULLMAN — Deposing of witnesses in the civil lawsuit against those involved in the formation of Cullman County’s new water utility board and cooperative has been postponed until an unspecified date.

Depositions, which were slated to begin Thursday morning at 9 a.m., were to involve at least three witnesses subpoenaed in the case. Attorney Rusty Turner, who is representing County Commission chairman James Graves as a plaintiff in the suit, said attorneys decided to request that the proceedings be continued until one of the witnesses—defendant and associate county commissioner Doug Williams—returns from a trip overseas.

“I think they all decided to try to get everybody together at the same time, and with Mr. Williams out of town, we were not able to do that today,” Turner said Thursday morning.

Though the depositions could be rescheduled with relatively short notice, the middle of next week is the earliest time all the deponents are expected to be available to testify. Too, a criminal court docket that begins Monday will likely occupy available courtroom space until midweek or later.

Testimony in the depositions is expected from county water department manager David Bussman and associate commissioners Williams and Wayne Willingham.

The two commissioners comprised the quorum on the three-person county commission that passed into existence the Governmental Utility Services Corporation of Cullman County (GUSC) and the South Cumberland Cooperative District (SCCD) in late April, and transferred ownership of the county water department to the SCCD.

The move elicited outcry from Graves, who joined with six other county residents in filing a civil suit May 7 against the commission, as well as the two new utility entities and their board members. The multi-count suit seeks, among other things, the dissolution of the entities and the restoration of the water department to county oversight.

A preliminary injunction ordered by Circuit Judge Don Hardeman on May 28 has temporarily halted the deliberative and administrative powers of the GUSC and SCCD, and placed the department back in county custody until the suit has been resolved.

For continuing coverage of the water lawsuit’s progress, check www.cullmantimes.com or future print editions of The Cullman Times.



* Benjamin Bullard can be reached by e-mail at bbullard@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131 ext. 270.

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