Caddo Commissioner Chris Kracman was sued for defamation. The lawsuit named him individually, not in his capacity as a Caddo commissioner. Caddo Parish attorney Donna Frazier refused to provide representation for Kracman when the suit was filed.
The plaintiffs requested that the litigation be dismissed and both parties agreed to a dismissal.
Kracman has forwarded the dismissal order to Parish Administrator Erica Bryant.
At the Commission work session yesterday Commissioner Grace Ann Blake inquired if the Parish was going to reimburse Kracman for his attorney fees. Bryant advised that Frazier would make the determination; Frazier was not at the meeting.
The Commission meets for its regular meeting this Thursday. Whether or not Frazier will have a decision by that date is unknown. It is expected that counsel for Kracman will be forwarding a formal demand for reimbursement of fees.
Parish ordinance 2-43 provides for indemnification of parish officials and officers. In pertinent part this ordinance reads that
“The policy of the parish shall be to hold harmless and indemnify each official or officer of the parish from any loss due to attorney fees, court costs, judicial interest, or award of monetary damages arising out of any claim, demand, suit or judgment in any court by reason of alleged negligence or other act…by the official IF THAT PERSON, AT THE TIME DAMAGES WERE SUSTAINED, WAS ACTING IN THE DISCHARGE OF HIS DUTIES AND WITHIN THE SCOPE OF HIS OFFICE AND SUCH DAMAGES DID NOT RESULT FROM THE INTENTIONAL WRONGFUL ACT OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE OF THE OFFICIAL..” (emphasis added).
The ordinance provides that if the Parish did not assume representation, that
“the parish shall NOT indemnify said official for attorney fees UNLESS the court subsequently finds that said person was acting in the discharge of his duties and within the scope of his office…” (emphasis added.)
Here there was no trial and thus no findings on whether the actions of Kracman were within the scope of his duties.
This puts the ball squarely in the lap of Frazier, who initially denied Kracman representation. Apparently, Frazier was not diligent in her initial investigation of the lawsuit, which took quotes out of context by Kracman in a KEEL radio interview. The full interview with all of Kracman’s comments was readily available to Frazier. Whether or not she will now review the interview and other evidence in her determination is an open question.
What is NOT an open question is the fact that litigation can be expected against the Parish to pay Kracman’s attorney fees, including fees and costs for additional litigation. To say this matter will get ugly, as in real ugly, is an understatement if Kracman's attorney fees are not promptly paid by the Parish..
No doubt Bryant is feeling the heat on this upcoming decision as she backpedaled in her responses to inquiries yesterday. The obvious bias against payment by Commission president Stormy Gage-Watts was on full display with her heavy-handed ruling with gavel thumping at the meeting. Stormy’s antics were quite paradoxical since the Parish is picking up the tab on her legal fees for presenting the resolution to Bernie Sanders.
