Judge hears arguments in lawsuit against former public administrator

December 28, 2011


Judge hears arguments in lawsuit against former public administrator

Anonymous From staff reports The Joplin Globe Wed Dec 28, 2011, 11:31 AM CST



JOPLIN, Mo. — An attorney for Rita Hunter argued Wednesday that a lawsuit against the former Jasper County public administrator should be dismissed.

Kenneth Hall, a former ward, is suing Hunter, arguing his rights were violated when he was placed in county care without any notification of relatives and without an opportunity to testify at a hearing when the action was taken.

In a hearing Wednseday before Jasper County Circuit Judge David Dally, Matt Cologna, an attorney representing Hunter on behalf of the county’s insurance agency, argued the action should not go forward. He said Hunter is entitled to qualified immunity as a public official and that the lawsuit was filed too late under the state’s statute of limitations.

Representing Hall, attorney Lynn Myers, argued the statute of limitations did not apply to his client while he was a county ward, because he was prevented in acting on his own behalf. He was only able to contract with a lawyer, Myers said, after he was restored to his full rights by a public administrator in Barry County.

Dally took the arguments under advisement.

The case is among several lawsuits against Hunter, who served as pubic administrator from 2005 to 2008. She recently was named in a 12-count federal indictment, on charges including Medicaid and health care fraud.

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http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x1750830831/Judge-hears-arguments-in-lawsuit-against-former-public-administrator

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