Final invoices add more than $1,600 to Gilbert's costs from Laurin Hendrix lawsuit

Judge's gavel — Gilbert's total legal costs from the lawsuit newly elected Council Member Laurin Hendrix brought against it are more than $64,000. (Courtesy Adobe Stock)

Gilbert's total legal costs from the lawsuit newly elected Council Member Laurin Hendrix brought against it are more than $64,000. (Courtesy Adobe Stock)

Now is the chance to help your local community succeed. Become a Patron by contributing to Community Impact Newspaper and gain daily insight into what's happening in your own backyard. Thank you for reading and supporting community journalism.

By Tom Blodgett | 12:15 PM Dec 30, 2020 MST

Final invoices from legal firms representing the Town of Gilbert and former Council Member Bill Spence in defending against Council Member Laurin Hendrix’s lawsuit have added about $1,579 to the town’s tab.

Gust Rosenfeld, representing the town, added $1,521 in fees, and Pierce Coleman, representing Spence, added nearly $58. The town agreed to indemnify Spence for his legal fees and expenses because he was sued as a member of council.

Hendrix brought suit shortly after his August election, seeking immediate seating on council. He also wanted actions taken without him to be nullified. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Daniel Kiley ruled in September that Hendrix was entitled to be seated upon the general election Nov. 3 but denied further relief. Kiley dismissed Hendrix’s claim that Spence was a “usurper” of Hendrix’s position.

Kiley later awarded Hendrix part of his legal fees from his case against the town as he partially prevailed in the lawsuit, as his seating was moved up from Jan. 12.

Kiley thus awarded $17,085 in attorney’s fees and $370 in costs to reimburse Hendrix, who had requested $33,872.

With the final invoices included, the town was billed $34,982 in attorney’s fees and costs by Rosenfeld and $11,767 from Coleman.

Among the three bills for which the town is responsible, the lawsuit cost Gilbert about $64,204.

By Tom Blodgett

Raised in Arizona, Tom Blodgett has spent 30 years in journalism in Arizona and is the editor of the Gilbert edition of Community Impact Newspaper. He is a graduate of Arizona State University, where he now serves as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet.