TULSA, OKLAHOMA - A federal judge has rejected Tulsa officials' request to transfer a lawsuit filed by an Atlanta law firm to Oklahoma. <br>
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Officials wanted the lawsuit filed by Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker to be tried in Tulsa. <br>
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But U.S. District Judge Beverly Martin ruled that the legal action stemming from the firm's representation of the city in the black police officers lawsuit will be tried in Atlanta. <br>
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The law firm alleges that the city owes $691,000 on top of the more than $1.52 million already paid for the lawyers' involvement in the case through January. <br>
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``This whole Paul, Hastings episode is going to be very costly to the city, no matter where this case is tried,'' said Joel Wohlgemuth, the city's attorney. <br>
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``The same type of litigation effort is going to be required whether it is in Tulsa or Atlanta.'' <br>
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In seeking a change of venue, the city had argued that all the work performed on the case was in the Tulsa judicial district, as are many of the witnesses. The case turned on Oklahoma state law, Wohlgemuth said. <br>
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The law firm contended that a majority of the documents and witnesses it intended to rely upon at trial worked in its Georgia offices. <br>
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The attorneys said they withdrew from the case after the city refused to pay or commit to a payment schedule for its outstanding debt to the private legal team, according to the lawsuit. <br>
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Wohlgemuth said that officials believe the entire claim is barred by Oklahoma law because there was no appropriation for the fees as required by the Oklahoma Constitution and statutes. <br>
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``Beyond that, the billings appear to be inflated and excessive,'' he said. <br>
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The city has hired Wohlgemuth, Mayor Bill LaFortune's former law partner, on a contract that caps his legal fees at $30,000 without prior authorization from the mayor for the work he will perform on the case. Wohlgemuth has a separate contract in the black officers lawsuit.
