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Luzerne County’s law division is still seeking $675,000 for special legal services in 2019.
This earmark covers litigation settlements and outside legal counsel fees that fall within the county’s insurance deductibles.
The request is a 10 percent reduction from this year’s $750,000 special legal allocation.
Citing pending litigation confidentiality, county Chief Solicitor Romilda Crocamo met with council in closed-door executive session before her Tuesday budget presentation to discuss the unresolved cases prompting her to seek $675,000.
During the subsequent public session, Councilman Harry Haas questioned why another high allocation is needed. He expected the request to decrease more due to the ongoing settlement of older cases and efforts to improve administrative procedures so there will be “less issues going forward.”
Crocamo said she explained in executive session there are still several outstanding cases that will “require an outlay by the county.”
She told council she scrutinizes bills from outside attorneys to ensure the county is not overpaying, sometimes instructing the lawyers to remove billed hours if she believes they are unreasonable for a specific task.
“I’ve litigated cases. I know how long it takes to do certain things,” Crocamo said.
Crocamo also said she proactively works with outside lawyers to determine if they should incur expenses filing specific motions that are unlikely to succeed.
“I’m taking a little pride in the fact that maybe that number is reduced because I’m actually participating in the decision-making,” she told council.
Haas pointed out only $290,000 was spent on special legal as of Oct. 5 and asked if Crocamo anticipates hitting this year’s budgeted $750,000.
Crocamo expects to come “very, very close” to $750,000 due to pending and upcoming bills, including preparation for the January federal court trial involving litigation filed by former deputy budget/finance director Donna Magni over her 2014 termination.
The county spent $688,653 on special legal services in 2017 and $985,719 in 2016, records show.
Insurers often require the county to retain outside legal counsel to handle litigation, even though the county ends up funding much of the legal expenses due to the deductible, officials have said. Crocamo told council in 2017 that current policies have reduced the county’s deductible from $150,000 to $100,000, and the insurance company has approved some county requests to provide in-house legal representation for certain litigation.
This year’s expenses included varying deductible payments toward the following settlements, records show:
• $250,000 settlement to former county chief public defender Al Flora to close out litigation over his 2013 termination. The county paid $16,000 left on its $150,000 deductible, and the insurer approved the settlement and agreed to pay $234,000.
• $56,000 settlement to former election director Leonard Piazza to end litigation over his 2013 firing. The county owed $19,000 on its $150,000 deductible, with the insurer kicking in the rest.
• $95,000 to Melissa Moser to settle 2014 litigation alleging her son sustained permanent injuries when a concrete barrier allegedly fell on him while he was playing at the Seven Tubs Nature Area in Plains Township. The county paid $10,000 still owed on its deductible.
The law division’s proposed overall budget, which includes both solicitors and conflict counsel, would decrease from $2.38 million to $2.33 million in 2019.
The county’s proposed budget includes a 3 percent tax hike. Council is free to alter the proposal before final adoption, which is set for Dec. 11.
