Mississippi Advisory Opinions January 05, 1982: 19820105 (January 05, 1982)

Advisory Opinion Text

Mr. W. Dean Belk

Attorney

City of Indianola

Post Office Box 229

Indianola, Mississippi 38751

Dear Mr. Belk:

Attorney General Bill Allain has received your opinion request of December 29, 1981, and attachments of the copies of the referenced causes, your letter of request stating:

“I am attorney for the City of Indianola which held its regular quadrennial elections on December 8, 1981.

“On December 28, 1981, two causes of action entitled 'Complaint Contesting Election Results' were filed in the Circuit Court of Sunflower County, Mississippi, as Cause Nos. 11, 549 and 11, 550, with one of the causes having been filed by the unsuccessful mayoral candidate against the successful candidate, and the other filed by five unsuccessful independent candidates against the five successful aldermanic candidates. A copy of each of the complaints is enclosed. Please note that petitioners pray in each of the causes that the December 8, 1981, election be declared null and void and a new election ordered rather than a determination of a winner by the Court based upon the largest number of validly cast ballots.

“This situation poses two questions as to each of which I respectfully request, on behalf of the city, an expeditious response:

“(1) May I represent in these actions the defendants being the successful candidates?

“(2) May compensation for such representation, whether the undersigned attorney or other counsel, be paid with municipal funds?”

On your first inquiry, this office is aware of no legal bar to your representing the individual parties defendant.

As to your second inquiry, we understand that the subject of attorneys' fees generally in your matter is already in litigation in a pending federal court lawsuit, so that a comment by this office on the subject at this time would be inappropriate and outside the authority of an Attorney General's opinion.

Yours very truly,

Bill Allain Attorney General.