Item M3
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
Meeting Date:
April 18, 2001
Division:
County Attorney
Bulk Item: Yes iii No D
AGENDA ITEM WORDING:
Supplemental $125,000 budget request for FY200t (Cost Center 67501, Line 530318).
ITEM BACKGROUND:
In this FY to date, one case (Post Buckley) has cost over $150,000, and will continue to
incur substantial expenses through trial. That cost, by itself, greatly exceeds the annual
County Attorney budget for outside legal fees, and has consumed much of the contingency
line item.
PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION:
FY Budget for County Attorney outside legal fees was set at $80,000; all but $15,000 of
"other" line item has been transferred to Line Item 530318 or obligated to date.
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES:
Requested FY200t supplement will increase Line 530318 to $370,000 (inclusive of prior
transfers).
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
Approval.
TOTAL COST: $125,000
COST TO COUNTY $125,000
BUDGETED: Yes D No'
APPROVED BY:
County Attorney D OMB/Purchasing D Risk Managem nt D
DOCUMENTATION:
Included III
NDRICK
Not Required D
DIVISION DIRECTOR APPROVAL:
AGENDA ITEM #
/--iL8
The Smith Law Firm
Re: Monroe County v. PBS&J
Invoice No. 604 dated June 2, 2000
Invoice No. 695 dated July 5, 2000
Invoice No. 706 dated Aug. 2, 2000
Invoice No. 754 dated Sept. 1, 2000
Invoice No. 820 dated Oct. 2, 2000
Invoice No. 868 dated Nov. 1, 2000
Invoice No. 921 dated Dec. 12,2000
Invoice No. 979 dated Jan. 2, 2001
Invoice No. 1066 dated Feb. 27, 2001
Invoice No. 1089 dated March 2, 2001
$ 217.50
$ 988.50
$ 1,465.00
$ 538.00
$ 60.00
$ 9,675.25
$ 28,033.80
$ 23,606.35
$ 33,710.33
$ 3,681.84
Total of Smith invoices rec'd to 3/31/01
Technical Advisory Services, Inc.
Re: Monroe County v. PBS&J
Invoice dated Dec. 26, 2000
Invoice dated Jan. 16, 2001
Invoice dated Feb. 26, 2001
$ 15,030.00
$ 7,250.00
$ 30,170.00
Total ofTASA invoices rec'd to 3/31/01
TOTAL
$101,976.57
$ 52,450.00
$154,426.57
1_.
THE SMITH LAW FIRM
A PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION
TIB BANK BUILDING. SUITE 201 . 330 WHITEHEAD STREET. KEY WEST, FLORIDA 33040
WAYNE LARUE SMITH. MBA, JD
ALSO ADMITTED WASHINGTON. DC
KEITH W. UPSON
March 23,2001
James T. Hendrick, Esq.
County Attorney's Office
P. O. Box 1026
Key West, FL 33041
RE: Monroe County v. PBSJ
Dear Jim:
We received a request from your office for an estimate of the legal fees and costs that
will be incurred through trial of this matter. The trial is expected to take as long as 10 days. As
you know, the defendant has employed some extraordinary strategies in this litigation that have
dramatically affected the cost of pursuing the claim. I expect the defendant to continue this tack
and, for that reason, I find it more challenging to give a narrow estimate of the cost. In addition,
we have yet to take the depositions of the expert witnesses. Otherwise, a major portion of the
trial preparation has taken place. Taking into account all of the possible variables, I believe that
the total costs and fees that will be incurred from this date through trial could range from
between $40,000 and $125,000.
Please let me know if you require further information on this issue.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
WLS :td
F:\DOCS\15502\Hendrick letter 3-23-01.doc
TELEPHONE: (305) 296-0029 . FACSIMILE: (305) 296-9172. TOLL FREE: (BOO) 800-3497. E-MAIL: TSLF@THESMITHLAWFIRM.COM