Court Order Mandates Dorman Pay Fees

by Randy Pierce

Madison County Third Judicial Circuit Court Associate Judge Ron Motil has issued an order requiring Rob Dorman of Maryville to pay over $43,000 in attorney and legal fees in connection with a four-year battle he has been fighting concerning his termination of employment.

Dorman was dismissed from his position as Madison County’s information technology director in April 2020 and has since then filed numerous lawsuits and related actions against his former employer and those he feels were connected with the termination. Such filings were characterized by Motil in the order filed on October 7 as “harassing litigation” that “needlessly increased the costs and resources” of the defendant.

While Motil’s order is specifically directed at one of Dorman’s many cases, it additionally states Dorman had filed multiple ones “over primarily the same issues” which were intended to harass the county’s employees, officers and elected officials.

Explained also in that order is how a state-level legal ruling was cited in granting the county the authority to collect the aforementioned sum of money from Dorman, $43,305.50 to be exact, and that the defendant had submitted an affidavit detailing the fees and expenses incurred from those lawsuits and actions.

Dorman and his legal counsel argued in a hearing on September 10 to challenge and strike the motion for the fee collection, but the court then ruled in favor of the county. Motil’s document said Dorman did not file any further challenge to the fees and costs figures by a deadline of September 30.

In reviewing the “reasonableness” of the county’s legal work performed plus the hourly rates and number of the attorneys involved, Motil stated the amount designated covers a period of time from January 13, 2023, through May 7, 2024.

This most recent court order is similar to one issued by Judge Ronald Foster last December calling for Dorman to pay similar fees to the county in an amount of $7,728.

Dorman, as he has done in the past, is moving forward, through his attorney, with a request to have this most recent order “vacated” and says he will file an appeal on it if necessary.

He contends that in response to the September 10 court hearing results, the county was ordered to provide his legal counsel with the applicable attorney bills and costs, but this was not to be shared with Dorman himself. 

“This court order,” Dorman said, referencing the most current one from Motil, “is part of a larger effort to block my ability to see critical documents, all of which are directly tied to my fight for transparency in local government” through the use of the state’s regulations where he can lawfully request access to certain information which, in this situation, the county has.

“(State’s Attorney) Tom Haine’s narrative,” Dorman further stated, “which claims I’ve flooded the county with requests and frivolous lawsuits, is an attempt to distract from the real issue.”

The reasoning behind and content of those requests, according to Dorman, “uncovered politically motivated actions and improper uses of taxpayer-funded resources including illegal campaigning and fund-raising by using county personnel and resources.”

Among the examples Dorman cites about illegal activity is what he says was the seizure and search an i-Cloud backup belonging to his son, who was 10 years old at the time, as part of the “investigation” leading to the dismissal from employment decision.

In further expressing his frustration, Dorman asks, “How am I supposed to object to an invoice if I’m not allowed to see it? The judge has barred me from viewing the very bill I’m being asked to pay.”

Dorman also said the particular lawsuit related to Motil’s order relates to the plaintiff’s denied request to have access to meeting minutes “where public corruption within the state’s attorney’s office was openly discussed and the county board heard it and then voted to end (Administrator) Doug Hulme’s and my appointments.”

“They fired us and they don’t want the public to know why,” he added.

“I saved taxpayers $1.8 million from 2016 to 2020,” Dorman claims, “reduced the IT department from 26 to 14 employees and improved security and customer service. My real crime was exposing how county officials were operating behind closed doors.”