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CITY WANTS MORE TIME IN LIBRARY SUIT

By Ray King/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Thursday, July 3, 2008 11:49 PM CDT

An attorney for the city of Pine Bluff has asked for more time to respond to an effort to evict Division 2 of District Court from its current space on the ground floor of the Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Library.

Attorney Gene McKissic, who was hired to represent the city of Pine Bluff after City Attorney Carol Billings and the Arkansas Municipal League declined, said in a motion filed Monday that Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure allow a defendant 45 days to file a response to a complaint.

On June 23, Circuit Judge Rob Wyatt Jr., who was assigned to hear the case, signed an order giving the city until 4 p.m. on Wednesday to file its response to the complaint, which the Library Board of Trustees filed after saying they believe the court has hurt their business and they need the space.

“That although the court entered an order to short en time, defendants need a reasonable amount of time to respond to such action and the attached discovery and eight days, which includes a weekend is not adequate time for defense counsel to study a sizable file and file a response,” McKissic said in the motion. “Further, defense counsel will be out of state for several days on prior scheduled business and unable to fully address the issues presented in the pleadings filed in such a short time span.”

McKissic also filed a letter addressed to Wyatt dated June 27, in which he quoted Wyatt as saying he (Wyatt) would be on vacation the week of June 30-July 4 and “that you would take the motion up on your return.”

In addition to asking that the court be evicted, the library board has filed a civil lawsuit against Pine Bluff asking for $15,003 in back rent and damages.

That case has been set for a non-jury trial beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 4 in Wyatt’s courtroom at the Jefferson County Courthouse.

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