Correction: The county's suit against Robert Chody has been dismissed.
Williamson County will hire The Law Office of Randy Leavitt for its second legal battle with Big Fish Entertainment LLC, the production company behind “Live PD," after an April 6 court vote. Leavitt has an hourly rate of $500, documents said.-
In the suit, Big Fish alleges that its video was, at some point in time, placed in a Williamson County Sheriff vehicle, which it said violates the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, said Hal Hawes, Williamson County Commissioners Court legal advisor, in an interview with Community Impact Newspaper.
The Big Fish lawsuit is against Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, the Austin Police Department and WCSO Lieutenant James David, among others, according to the agenda.
The action is separate from a previous lawsuit between the county and Big Fish, Hawes said.
In its first lawsuit with the company, Williamson County sued Big Fish as well as former Sheriff Robert Chody for filming “Live PD” without a valid contract. Big Fish responded with a countersuit against the county in which it claimed that the county did not have grounds for the initial suit, Hawes said.
That dispute was resolved when commissioners voted Nov. 10 to drop the case against Big Fish. In response, Big Fish dropped its countersuit.
Chody turned himself in to Travis County Jail on April 1 after he was indicted by a grand jury for evidence tampering in the March 2019 Javier Ambler death-in-custody case, during which “Live PD” was present.
Chody is facing a similar charge from the Williamson County District Attorney’s Office. He is scheduled to appear in court April 28 for that charge.
