By Ray King
A decision by Special Judge William Randall Wright Tuesday in a lawsuit filed County Assessor Gloria Tillman, her daughter Morgan Tillman and other county employees against Count Judge Gerald Robinson was a mixed bag, with Robinson winning on three of the five counts alleged and Tillman willing on the other two.
The lawsuit was filed after Robinson withheld the pay of Morgan Tillman and former assessor Yvonne Humphrey, which resulted in checks for all county employees being withheld and paid late.
Robinson contended Morgan Tillman was hired in violation of a county ordinance which prohibits elected officials from supervising members of their immediate family, and Humphrey, who was formerly county assessor, was not entitled to the amount of money she claimed.
Gloria Tillman alleged possible violation of her constitutional rights, including Robinson’s not paying employees was intentional, and a laundry list of other complaints which mirror those of some members of the quorum court like Robinson using county money to pay his attorney but refusing to use county money to pay an attorney for the quorum court, paying bills without the approval of the quorum court, failed to pay vendors in a timely fashion and wasted public money.
In his ruling, Judge Wright said Robinson was entitled to qualified immunity which shields government officials from liability for civil damages when they are performing discretionary functions which does not violate constitutional rights. That ruling dismissed two of the five counts.
The judge also dismissed the count involving Morgan Tillman seeking to declare that she is legally employed by Jefferson County, despite an existing ordinance prohibiting her employment in the office run by her mother.
With two counts of the lawsuit remaining, it’s back to legal wrangling to try and resolve those two.
