CACHE COUNTY – County Attorney Taylor Sorensen offers no apology for the unusual circumstance of county officials funding a private lawsuit against local citizens with tax dollars.
“Some may disagree,” Sorensen acknowledges. “But the county council has broad latitude in what they decide is the county’s business.
“In my opinion, this is a question of workplace safety and is a completely legitimate purpose (for spending tax dollars).”
Sorensen’s statement of Sept. 3 came in response to a Letter to the Editor by Joe Saxton of Smithfield published by Cache Valley Daily on Aug. 27.
In that letter, Saxton questioned the ethics – if not the legality – of the county allocating $20,000 to bankroll “a private lawsuit on behalf of two county employees who are suing community members for libel and slander.”
According to court documents obtained by Cache Valley Daily, the Cache County employees bringing the lawsuit are victim advocates Terryl Warner and Tonya Ryan. The defendants in the suit — which alleges slander, libel and defamation — are Erin Bennett and Sarah Dawn Bokomba Hernandez.
The lawsuit was filed in the First Judicial District Court in Logan in late April. But the county entered into a contract with Hepworth and Associates, a law firm in Bountiful, in late February to “provide services for a defamation suit.”
A county expenditure voucher dated Feb. 29 of this year states that because the amount of a $20,000 retainer is for professional services, a purchase order and three competitive bids from other law firms not required.
The lawsuit alleges that its defendants have engaged in a campaign of stalking, harassment, defamation and threats against its plaintiffs, including allegations of sex trafficking.
The lawsuit seeks $500,000 in damages, as well as punitive charges.
Both defendants are also facing criminal charges; Bennett is being prosecuted in Logan District Court and Herandez is being prosecuted in the Ogden District Court in a case transferred from Cache County due to conflict of interest.
Sorensen added that the defendants have also made allegations of misconduct against local prosecutors and judges.
“The (Cache) County Council decided,” he explained, “in a completely legitimate fashion, that this is a workplace safety issue and that funding a lawsuit is a completely legitimate use of county funds.
“In my opinion, this is no different than hiring a specialist to evaluate security at an employee’s home or the county paying for body armor for uniformed officers.”
Approval of the $20,000 retainer was buried in a budget amendment voted on by the members of the Cache County Council on March 26, according to County Executive David Zook.
The statements by Sorensen and Zook still leave unanswered questions raised by Saxton about the transparency of county financial and budgetary actions; ordinance compliance; conflict of interest; and liability issues.