BOCC expands attorney contract for tort claim

SANDPOINT — During a special meeting Thursday, Bonner County commissioners approved a motion to void all votes taken at the end of the Nov. 7 meeting due to an open meeting law violation.

The commissioners then placed those items on Thursday’s agenda to vote for them in accordance with open meeting laws. During the meeting, commissioners discussed whether to expand the county’s contract with Holland & Hart LLP to represent Bonner County Clerk Mike Rosedale in the tort claim that was filed against him earlier this month.

Commissioner Steve Bradshaw moved to approve the expansion, however, he was met with conflicting viewpoints during discussion.

“The receipt of tort litigation doesn’t actually mean we need to incur the cost of legal fees,” Commissioner Asia Williams said. “We get torts all the time that we don’t assign legal to. This will result in instant bills to Bonner County whereas we might not have a bill because it could just go away.”

Williams requested the board not vote to expand a contract for the tort until a true complaint came forward. Bradshaw responded, saying that in all his years working for Bonner County, he has never been billed by an attorney for work the attorney did not do. 

“Just because you’ve engaged them and gave them a heads up on a pending tort, they don’t charge you for going, ‘OK,’” he replied.

County attorney Bill Wilson chimed in, agreeing with Williams’s claim that a notice of a tort claim is different from an actual complaint under that tort claim’s act. Wilson said once they receive a notice of the tort, they have a certain number of days in which to respond to that claim.

“If we say nothing in that time, then it’s a presumption of denial and that party has a legal right to sue us,” he said. “I would say we do end up waiting until we get a complaint.”

Wilson also said that should the commissioners choose to acquire outside counsel to represent Rosedale, they would need a “basis for necessity,” something he said the board does not yet have because the attorney’s office has not had the chance to weigh in on the issue.

“We should wait for what we’re already paying for in our prosecutor’s office before we choose to assign things to third parties,” Williams said.

However, Commissioner Luke Omodt said he felt Wilson’s statements were not accurate. Reading the memorandum of understanding between the commissioners and the prosecutor’s office, Omodt said that should a conflict of interest arise between the two parties, the board has the right to appoint independent counsel based on its own findings of necessity.

“I am not a lawyer,” he said. “I don’t play one on TV; I don’t play one here today. But it seems to me that if a lawyer from the prosecuting attorney’s office is suing the board of county commissioners, that’s a pretty good reason …” Omodt started to say before getting cut off by Williams.

Rosedale also spoke during the meeting, saying that Wilson had told him he should seek outside counsel because the attorneys in the county are spread so thin. Rosedale also said a lot of the tort’s as well as Sheriff Daryl Wheeler’s claims of Rosedale’s illegal activities regarding the alleged 2022 fraud are not accurate.

“Keep in mind, this is the whole time when I received no help,” he said. “Bill understandably is tied, and I’m not blaming Louis at all, but I had no counsel except for Holland & Hart … I disclosed the possible fraud at the fairgrounds.”

Rosedale said he, as well as the county’s treasurer, signed a letter saying there was no known fraud “in the scope of the audit.”

“That was true, because the agreement we had with Mr. Wilson present was that we weren’t going to audit the [fair board],” he said. “That is what I don’t have representation for and that is why I do need representation from Holland & Hart.”

While there may just be a notice of tort and not an actual filed complaint at this time, Rosedale said “it seems like this is already being tried in the court of public opinion.”

"This has been the unjust hell these two individuals have intentionally put myself, my comptroller and external auditors through," Rosedale said in a follow-up email. "It bled over to the release done by the fair board using that same assumption. It has to stop, and so far nobody in authority is stepping up to stop it. The worst part is that Sheriff Wheeler and Scott Bauer did this while knowing the accusations were false.

"As to the need for outside counsel, Sheriff Wheeler has an attorney — Scott Bauer, his son-in-law — working for him. And Scott Bauer himself is railing against my office and my staff and external auditor, most recently in the form of a notice of tort."

Bradshaw said he feels the best solution to the situation would be to let the time to respond expire and proceed forward should an actual complaint be filed. Wilson agreed.

“To say that Mike has done something illegal — I disagree with that,” the attorney said. “To the extent that this has caused difficulty between our offices and with the board, I regret that.”

Bonner County Assessor Dennis Engelhardt also weighed in on the situation, saying he would view a notice of tort much like a military commander learning of the potential for war.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t do everything I could to prepare my company for that,” he said. “I think the tort notice is an opportunity … to prepare any defense that would come up if a suit was actually filed.”

The assessor said Rosedale’s ability to consult with an attorney at this time during the notice of tort is very important for the county to prepare for what may come.

Nancy Twineham, the county’s comptroller, spoke virtually about her desire for sufficient protection for the county’s employees.

“I am an employee of Bonner County and should be protected as an employee,” she said. “To hear somebody say, ‘Well I’m an elected official; I’m subject to this all the time,’ there needs to be protections for the employees. My name has been slandered …”

In her experience with the county, Twineham said she believes the likelihood of the tort complaint being filed is high.

“I’m tired of it,” she said. “I’m tired of the attacks on me, on my office. I have served this county with the highest amount of integrity for the taxpayers. That is who I work for. I have done my job to the utmost responsibility and to what they pay me for. Sorry for my language, but this [expletive] has to end. Enough is enough.”

Omodt stepped down from the chair and motioned to expand the contract with Holland & Hart to represent Rosedale regarding the tort claim as a finding of necessity because the issue is already being “adjudicated in the court of public opinion.”

Williams again said she felt it was reasonable to not approve the expansion at this time, following the recommendation of legal counsel to wait until an actual complaint is filed.

The motion passed 2-1, with Williams voting no.