Lawsuits: Haights target city charter
Rhonda and David Haight made good on their threat to sue Angela “Angie” Arp, Jack Taylor, Bill Bivins and the City of Blue Ridge last week when they filed individual civil lawsuits against the three city council members.
The lawsuits were filed Thursday, May 16, on behalf of Rhonda Haight, as both mayor of Blue Ridge and a citizen, and David Haight, as a citizen of Blue Ridge, by their attorney, Kurt R. Hilbert of Chalmers, Adams, Backer & Kaufman, LLC, of Alpharetta, Georgia.
Each lawsuit also names the City of Blue Ridge as the Haights attempt to have the three council members removed from office and the city’s charter changed so the Arp, Bivins and Taylor cannot remove Rhonda Haight from her position as mayor.
In an April anti litem notice, the Haights threatened to sue if the three council members did not resign and the section of the city charter allowing three council members to remove the mayor be stricken. It also demanded the Haights be reimbursed $20,000 for legal fees.
The three lawsuits filed last week accuse the council members of city charter violations previously alleged by the mayor creating malfeasance by the members.
All three city council members are accused of conspiring “to engage in spite voting on rezoning of R3.” That count of the lawsuit notes the Haights own or have interest in a substantial quantity of real estate zoned R2 or R3. When R3 zoning was changed by the council’s unanimous vote of the five-member council, the height limit and density of R3 were lowered to spite the Haights, the lawsuit alleges.
All three are also accused of non-compliance with open record requests and engagement of a law firm to investigate the mayor with the intent to eventually remove her from office.
No other counts are filed against Bivins.
The action against Arp cites her purchase of property from Michael James Magruder. The suit alleges the property was bought under market value and Arp used her position to quash cleanliness violations against the Magruder property.
She is also accused of disclosing confidential information to the press - Glenn Harbison of The News Observer - for proving him with the anti litem notice and settlement offer made before the three lawsuits were filed.
Taylor’s residency is questioned at the time he first ran for city council in 2021. Allegations also focus on Taylor parking his motorcycle in the city police department garage and his ownership and association with his former bail bonds business. There are also allegations of improprieties in connection with Tonya Nuelle’s low, sealed bids in the purchase of two surplus patrol cars and a ditch witch from the city.
The Haights allege all three council members have committed malfeasance by their actions as grounds for their removal from office.
In suing the city, the Haights seek to have the portion of the city charter that establishes a process for three members of the city council to remove the mayor from office declared unconstitutional. It charges that Arp, Bivins and Taylor are using that portion of the charter in a plan to remove the mayor.
The three lawsuits contain a total of 320 pages.
The defendants had not yet been served with the lawsuit at press time Monday. Once served, they have 30 days to file answers.