A federal court ruling could signal the end of a $1 million lawsuit against the city of Hanceville, according to court documents recently made available.
In U.S. District Court last month, Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins ruled against a complaint filed on behalf of Hanceville-based newspaper publisher Edmond Flaig.
Flaig is owner and publisher of The Trinity News, a publication often critical of the Hanceville City Council and Mayor Katie Whitley.
Flaig and his attorney, William J. Freeman, filed a suit against the city of Hanceville and the city of Arab and officials of both municipalities in January. The complaint alleged that officials from both municipalities conspired to harass Flaig and defame his good name.
The judge rejected that complaint, calling it "virtually unintelligible" and ordered Freeman to file an amended version within 30 days.
Reportedly, Freeman did file a longer, more-in-depth complaint on the last day of the grace period. Court documents show that Hopkins rejected that complaint as well.
The Times was not able to contact Freeman to comment on the matter.
According to Hanceville attorney Ed Coey, all of the defendants in the case have filed for a dismissal in the matter. Since the latest action, he said they are still waiting for the judge to rule on their requests.
"I think things are looking pretty good for us right now," he said. "But I'm not going to assume it will be dismissed just yet. I've learned never to assume anything in matters of law. We'll just wait it out."
According to the most-recent complaint, other defendants include Hanceville Mayor Katie Whitley, former Hanceville Police Chief Craig Richie, former Hanceville police officer Chris A. Pearce, and Arab police officer Brian Matthews.
In the document, Freeman states hostilities between Flaig and the city of Hanceville started in 2004 when Flaig lost the mayoral election to Whitley. Since then, he has publicly questioned the legitimacy of that election.
In February 2005, Flaig was forcibly removed from a Hanceville City Council meeting by Pearce, reportedly for asking questions, which is not allowed in regular council meetings.
In January, Flaig said he and his employee Randal S. Pifher were questioned by Arab authorities in connection with a string of grocery-store robberies in the area.
He said the officers made several remarks on the two men's Roman Catholic faith, saying it "seemed like a cult to them." Flaig, as a former Catholic monk has been outspoken about his faith — his newspaper lists "God" as the owner.
According to Freeman, the case against the two municipalities is based on the assumption that officials in Hanceville and Arab conspired to connect Flaig to the robberies. Both men were later cleared of those charges.
"Why would the Arab Police Department feel like they needed to question both employees with this?" he said in a previous interview. "We feel like it's enough of a connection that we can't ignore it."
Other charges in the case include slander, intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with business relations and a violation of Flaig's free-press rights.
In response, the Hanceville City Council has filed a countersuit against Flaig, asking that he pay for the city's court costs.
"The city of Hanceville had nothing to do with that (police investigation)," said Coey in a previous interview. "That idea belongs in the realm of fantasy."
Top Stories
May 29, 2006
Lawsuit could be ending
Judge's ruling could signal end of $1 million case against city
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