A Big Bend Times audit of county payment records shows Jeff Davis County spent more than $27,000 in 2024 on outside attorneys as officials faced tort claims and public records disputes involving our publisher, David Flash.
County Hires Tort Defense Lawyers
Invoices show the county turned to Windle Hood Norton Brittain & Jay LLP, an El Paso firm known for tort defense, after receiving multiple notices of claim connected to misconduct by county officials. Those notices, which county leaders acknowledged, make clear the claims are legitimate.
While Windle Hood’s invoices were labeled under “open records,” the assignment came through the Texas Association of Counties Risk Management Pool after Jeff Davis County paid a $2,500 deductible in August 2024. Windle Hood went on to bill over $10,000 for work tied to Flash’s requests and related claims.
Additional Spending in Austin
The county also issued a check for $14,012.55 in February 2024 to Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP, an Austin law firm, for professional services rendered through the end of 2023. Subsequent invoices brought Bickerstaff’s 2024 total to more than $16,500, with attorney Charles Kimbrough billing at $250 per hour for reviewing and responding to Flash’s Texas Public Information Act (TPIA) filings.
2024 Legal Costs at a Glance
- $16,562.55 — Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP (records disputes)
- $2,500.00 — TAC Risk Pool deductible
- $10,271.00 — Windle Hood Norton Brittain & Jay LLP (tort defense billed as “open records”)
Total: $27,108.55 in taxpayer-funded legal expenses in 2024.
Small County, Big Bills
Jeff Davis County has fewer than 2,300 residents. Yet in 2024, officials diverted more than $27,000 of public money to outside lawyers — not for lawsuits the county brought, but to defend itself against our publisher’s legitimate claims and open records filings.
The Big Bend Times will continue tracking these expenditures and the county’s ongoing attempts to avoid transparency.
