Commissioners add Bill Woodward to lawsuit and modify judgement

County Attorney Sean Surrisi updated the commissioners on the ongoing litigation with Thomas McFadden over the Marshall County Regional Sewer District and sought a couple of approvals.  

After a special meeting last week, the Regional Sewer District approved the district’s attorneys representing McFadden in defense of the Commissioner’s lawsuit filed.  They also filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

Surrisi has a phone conversation with the district’s four attorneys. They don’t think the commissioner’s claim is proper to dismiss McFadden.  They say the only way to challenge a person’s right to be in office is through a special statutory action known as a quo warranto action, and it can only be brought by the county prosecutor or by a private person who has some special interest in the office.  Surrisi said they believe the Declaratory Judgment isn’t a proper action.

The County Attorney told their commissioners he disagreed with their motion.   He said a Declaratory Judgement is where you ask the court to interpret how a written document, a contract, or a law works.  Surrisi mentioned the ordinance the commissioners recently approved, discussing the seats on the Regional Sewer District Board and its operations.

Surrisi suggested, for the sake of efficiency, adding Bill Woodward as a party to the lawsuit and adding a claim for a quo warranto action to settle the merits of this dispute.  He said the district's lawyers wanted nothing to do with his suggestion, and that was the end of the conversation. Surrisi said, “The way that they have treated this lawsuit, I see the exact same complaints that everybody, including yourselves, have been making.  Ignoring the facts and spending a lot on professional services providers.  I’m one guy, and they bring four lawyers to the party.” 

The county attorney said cases cited in their brief, the City of Bloomington vs Gunther, which was in 2022, brought both a Declaratory Judgment and a Quo Warranto for an appointment to a vacant seat on the Bloomington Plan Commission between the Republican County Chairman and the Mayor of Bloomington.  Ultimately, Surrisi said the trial court rejected the case.  An interlocutory appeal was allowed by the judge and the Court of Appeals.  The trial court decided the case, and it was appealed, but Surrisi believes the district’s attorneys cited the wrong case in their brief. 

The County Attorney told the commissioners, even if a court decides a Declaratory Judgment in the county’s favor, giving the commissioners the power to declare a vacancy on the Regional Sewer Board, the ruling doesn’t force McFadden off the board. You will have to file a quo warranto action to force McFadden to leave the board if the court finds in favor of the county. 

Surrisi suggested amending the complaint to add a quo warranto and authorize the County Attorney to represent Bob Woodward in the lawsuit as well.   He said of the district’s case, “Their motion is entirely unreasonable and groundless, and I point this out to the court in a filing I’m ready to file this morning, pending your approval.  Unlike their threats of seeking attorney fees if you would not withdraw the Declaratory Judgement action, I set out in the response brief that we are not seeking attorney fees.  That would just be pointless, trying to take money and shift it from one government entity to another.”  Surrisi went on to say, “We just want to get this real dispute about your authority decided by a court and hope that we can officially get on with that and not have a bunch of things that are not important.” 

The County Commissioners authorized County Attorney Sean Surrisi to represent Mr. Woodward by adding him as a party to the lawsuit and approved a Consent of Dual Representation.  They also approved filing an amended claim of Declaratory Judgment and asserting a quo warranto claim.