BISBEE CASE: County Challenges Fees

BENTONVILLE — Prosecutors are challenging whether the county is required to pay any of the $73,000 in attorney’s fees for County Judge Dave Bisbee.

Bisbee was on trial in June for three misdemeanor charges stemming from his decision to hire his then-company, Valley Homes, to do remodeling at the county collector’s and assessor’s offices in Rogers. Gary Wierman, Bisbee’s long-time construction superintendent and then-vice president of Valley Homes, did the remodel.

A jury found Bisbee not guilty on two of the three charges, but could not reach a decision on the charge accusing Bisbee of using his office or the influence created by his office to advance the economic interests of an associate. Prosecutors later dismissed the charge.

State law says if a county employee or official is put on trial and acquitted, that person shall be rewarded reasonable legal fees.

Asa Hutchinson, Bisbee’s attorney, contends the key word in the law is “shall.”

“The decision to prosecute this case was made with full awareness of the prosecuting attorney that an acquittal would mean that the taxpayers would have to pay the defense legal bills,” Hutchinson said in a legal brief filed Wednesday.

Hutchinson also said his rate of $400 an hour is reasonable.

“The bill submitted is outrageous,” Prosecuting Attorney Van Stone said Wednesday.

“What I’m charging is normal,” Hutchinson said. “It might be on the high end of things, but it is reasonable.”

The prosecutor’s first battle plan is to have Judge John Walton Cole look at the acquittal issue. Bisbee was acquitted of two charges, but the prosecutor dismissed the third charge. The law states attorney fees are entitled in cases of acquittal and does not mention the event of a dismissal.

Stone contends the court should examine the law further to see if it should include cases where charges are dropped.

Stone also requested the court look at the word “reasonable.” Stone’s response to Bisbee’s petition for attorney’s fees dissects the $73,044 request.

“It is completely unreasonable,” Stone said.

Hutchinson said his fees are reasonable and comparable to those charged by other area attorneys with his level of experience.

Court documents filed by Hutchinson list his hourly rate at $660. Hutchinson charged Bisbee $400 per hour.

Andrew Miller, a Rogers lawyer, and John C. Everett, a Fayetteville lawyer, both stated in affidavits Hutchinson’s fee is reasonable and consistent with other lawyers of similar experience.

Prosecutors asked four lawyers — Eldon Cripps, Doug Norwood, Joel Huggins and W.H. Taylor — to review Hutchinson’s bill. All described it as unreasonable.

Two additional attorneys assisted Hutchinson. His son, Asa Hutchinson III, charged $200 an hour and Duane A. Kees billed $175 an hour.

All three were in court during Bisbee’s four-day trial.

The prosecutor’s response states Bisbee’s case did not require the support of the two attorneys.

Hutchinson disagrees.

“It would have been akin to legal malpractice for the defense to use only one attorney when the prosecution had three attorneys supported by investigators and a large staff, all working to convict the defendant and remove him from office,” Hutchinson wrote in his response.

Prosecutors claim Asa Hutchinson III accumulated many of his billable hours during the four-day trial, but he did not conduct any cross examination or direct examination of witnesses. They claim the younger Hutchinson rarely sat at the counsel table and sometimes sat in the audience. He was absent during half the trial on June 2 and during a portion of jury deliberations on June 4, the response states.

Hutchinson said his son did not bill for hours he was not working on Bisbee’s case.

Hutchinson claimed in the petition for attorneys fees his firm spent a significant amount of time defending Bisbee and lost a major case in the process. The prosecutor questions both claims.

“The Asa Hutchinson Law Group did not devote the ‘vast majority’ of its legal resources to (Bisbee’s) case for ‘over a month’ as is alleged in the petition for attorney’s fees,” Stone claims.

Hutchinson says his law firm worked 239 hours between April 22 and June 4 on Bisbee’s case.

“Two hundred hours over a month’s time period is a significant amount of time for a law firm with three lawyers,” Hutchinson said. “It makes you wonder whether Van Stone has ever been in private practice.”

Hutchinson said he plans to file additional documents supporting his legal fees before the Aug. 10 hearing before Cole.