TRAVERSE CITY -- Former Grand Traverse County attorney Michael Houlihan faces a lawsuit if he doesn't turn over the county's legal files "at a reasonable cost."
The county Board of Public Works authorized its attorney to sue Houlihan, who resigned the post this year, if he can't negotiate a low, reasonable cost for files he accumulated in 32 years as a county-contracted attorney.
Houlihan's lawyer, Stephen Turner, notified the public works board that Houlihan spent 163 hours collecting, reviewing and organizing tens of thousands of documents related to the county's troubled septage treatment plant.
Turner said Houlihan's normal billing rate is $200 an hour and he's owed $32,500 for reviewing work for which the county's already paid him, though he reduced the demand to $12,000 to avoid litigation.
Septage plant files represent just one segment of voluminous records Houlihan accumulated on behalf of the county. He has not provided an estimated cost to turn over the balance of files relating to solid waste, recycling, and water and sewer issues.
Scott Howard, who succeeded Houlihan as BPW attorney, said $3,000 is more in line with what the county should pay Houlihan for septage documents.
"The numbers speak for themselves," Howard said. "Twenty hours would seem like a lot of time to me."
Houlihan agreed to turn over about two boxes of original septage documents both sides agree are owned by the county. They also agree certain internal documents, such as Houlihan's notes, belong to him.
But it may take a judge to decide who owns the rest.
"The BPW can do what it wishes, but I think that a lawsuit will be frivolous, particularly in light of Michigan Law," Turner said.
He cited an ethics opinion from the State Bar of Michigan that says lawyers own all files and can charge a reasonable fee to review, organize and copy them.
"It's an ethics opinion, it's not a court opinion," Howard countered. "It's never been interpreted in this state, but the majority of states that have looked at this say the ownership of the files belongs to the client, and if the attorney wants to keep copies they have to pay for that cost."
Turner said it will cost the BPW more to go to court than pay for the files.
But Howard told the BPW it will cost less than $5,000 to have a judge decide who owns the files and at what cost.
