Countys Aurora legal bills might hit $70,000

Official: Taxpayers will ultimately pay costs 

Waukesha Freeman, August 26, 2006

By ERIK BROOKS and KOLLIN KOSMICKI
Freeman Staff

WAUKESHA The county is responsible for close to $60,000 in legal fees spent by its insurer to fight Aurora Health Cares lawsuit filed last year over failed plans to build a Pabst Farms hospital in the town of Summit, an official said Friday.

That figure, which was as of June 1, could grow to as much as $70,000 before the case is ultimately dismissed later this year under a settlement agreement announced last week between Aurora, the town of Summit, Oconomowoc and Pabst Farms, Waukesha County Corporation Counsel Thomas Farley said.

Meanwhile, legal fees paid by Oconomowocs insurance company in Auroras separate five-year old case against the city have already topped $219,000, a city official said.

That amount, which is as of June 30, is also expected to increase, although the city will have to pay none of it because its policy with Kempes, the citys insurer at the time the suit was brought, contained a $10,000 loss only deductible to be paid only if the city had suffered damages in the case, City Finance Director Sarah Kitsembel said.

Oconomowoc will pay no damages as part of the settlement announced last week.

County Executive Dan Vrakas said hes happy the court dispute is settled and hes hopeful that the issue will be put to rest.

The deal reached Aug. 15 calls for Oconomowoc to exercise its extraterritorial zoning powers on 55 acres in the town of Summit to ensure that the Aurora hospital gets built there. In return, Aurora announced it would move to dismiss its lawsuit against Oconomowoc, as well as its suit against Waukesha County and the county board.

Aurora sued the city in 2001 after the Oconomowoc Common Council voted to rezone a parcel of land northeast of Interstate 94 and Highway 67 to prevent construction of a new hospital. Aurora then sued the county last spring after the county board voted against rezoning and master plan changes necessary for the same hospital to be built on a separate piece of land in the town of Summit.

Do I have any regrets about my vote? said Supervisor Patricia Haukohl, one of 21 board members who opposed the rezoning. Absolutely not. This is part of the governmental process.

County board Chairman Jim Dwyer, who voted in favor of the rezoning, said it was the countys responsibility to defend the taxpayers right not to be involved in this litigation.

Supervisor Walter Kolb reiterated his belief that board members should have stuck to considering whether a hospital would be an appropriate land use.

I voted for the Aurora hospital in the beginning and I believe theyve finally been vindicated on the unfairness and the unjustness they had to deal with, he said.

Insurance companies for the county and the city hired and paid the attorneys to fight both lawsuits, officials said.

The county will have to pay the full cost of its legal representation because its insurance policy with the Wisconsin Municipal Mutual Insurance Co. has a percase deductible of $250,000 and yearly deductible of $950,000, neither of which will likely be met in 2006, Farley said.

County taxpayers will ultimately pick up the legal tab, Farley said.

The city is in better shape.

Kitsembel said the city switched insurance carriers in the years after the Aurora law suit was filed to League of Wisconsin Municipalities Mutual Insurance, but the previous carrier remained responsible for all legal fees because the suit was filed while it had the citys business.

Mayor Maury Sullivan said the city still was responsible for at least some legal fees in the case related to hours spent on it by City Attorney William Chapman. Also, manpower costs by other city staff members have been significant, he said.

There is no free lunch, Sullivan said.

Likewise, the county has spent significant money on manpower issues related to the case, especially as staff members worked to fulfill a massive open records request filed by Aurora before it sued the county last spring, Farley said.