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Friday, March 19, 2004

Indiana Law - Dispute Continues Over Paying for Lake County's Tax Reassessment

Here is the headline from this story in today's Munster Times: "Lake County, Andersen headed to court: Judge rescinds stay on lawsuit; millions of taxpayer dollars at stake." Some quotes:

Lake County and the state of Indiana could be ordered Monday to pay Arthur Andersen LLP as much as $10.5 million for work government officials said the defunct accounting firm never did.

Although a Marion County judge recently halted Andersen's civil lawsuit seeking payment on its canceled contract for the 2002 reassessment, Judge Gerald Zore lifted the stay order Thursday and attorneys are now preparing for court. * * *

For months, attorney Gerald Bishop and other county lawyers, Indiana tax officials and Andersen have been trying to reach a deal over the millions in claims and late fees Andersen said it is owed.

Although former state Finance Commissioner Jon Laramore signed off on $9 million in invoices two years ago, the state and the county said the company didn't do much work and is not owed the money.

At a court-ordered mediation in February, the state and Lake County put up $750,000 each to settle the lawsuit, but Andersen's attorneys rejected the offer.

On Monday, the judge will hear the accounting firm's motion for summary judgment. "Andersen is saying ostensibly, 'We want this money, and it doesn't matter what we did. The claims were signed,'" Bishop said.

Today's story updates a March 9, 2004 Munster Times story reported on in this earlier ILB entry.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 19, 2004 05:37 PM
Posted to Indiana Law