The lawsuit filed by Warren County Commissioner Michael Shane Wilcher against Warren County government will cost taxpayers more than $71,000 and there will be no effort to recoup any of that money.
According to county records, the county has paid $71,370 for legal fees and court reports for the Michael Shane Wilcher v. Warren County lawsuit.
Those numbers are not final.
“We will receive an additional billing from our attorneys for work performed on the appeal,” said Finance Department director Linda Hillis.
In December, federal judge Travis R. McDonough dismissed the lawsuit entirely, calling it a “childish spat.”
Wilcher then filed an appeal to that ruling.
During mediation, the parties reached an agreement: Wilcher would drop his appeal and Warren County government would not pursue seeking financial reimbursement from him for any of the expenses created by the failed lawsuit.
The lawsuit stemmed from a brief verbal exchange between Wilcher and fellow Commissioner Ron Lee on Aug. 18, 2014.
Lee’s legal costs are not known.