A lawsuit by former Eagle Mountain mayor Brian Olsen against the city will continue after a small victory in court Thursday.
Judge David Mortensen refused to throw out Olsen's lawsuit, in which he is asking to be reimbursed for $119,000 in attorney's fees. Olsen was charged with seven counts of misusing public funds and was acquitted by a jury in September 2008. He is asking to be reimbursed under a Utah law that says public officials who are prosecuted and acquitted are entitled to be reimbursed for their legal defense.
Eagle Mountain City filed a motion to dismiss the suit, saying Olsen failed to file his claim in time. Attorney Gerald Kinghorn said state law required Olsen to file his claim within 10 days of his criminal summons.
"We believe that the court is without jurisdiction to entertain his claim," he said.
Even if Olsen did not file his official claim at the time, Kinghorn said, he should have at least notified the city of his intent to seek compensation. The city would have at least been able to do something if it had some notice, he said.
"We could have handled that contingency," he said. "We could have handled that up front."
Attorneys for both sides agreed the statute is confusing and difficult to interpret. Olsen's attorney, David Eckersley, said the statute could not mean that a claim must be filed shortly after summons. A person cannot ask for reimbursement before he qualifies for it, he said.
"Obviously, the acquittal can't occur within 10 days of the information being filed," Eckersley said.
Mortensen said he had read briefs from both sides carefully, as well as the statute, and he agreed the statute was clumsily written. Though it is confusing, Mortensen said the city's interpretation disregards an important sentence concerning the acquittal in a case. A claim for reimbursement cannot arise before there is an acquittal, he said.
"This court disagrees with the premise of the motion to dismiss," Mortensen said.
Posted in Local, Eagle-mountain, Provo on Friday, August 21, 2009 12:00 am Updated: 2:02 pm. | Tags: Provo, Eagle Mountain
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