MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In the latest move to oust Shelby County Court Clerk Wanda Halbert, county attorney Robert Meyers filed a motion Friday asking the court for a default judgment and her immediate removal.
This is all part of the second ouster petition filed against Halbert in 2024. The first case, filed by Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp, was thrown out on a legal technicality.
The second complaint, which was filed by Meyers in early August, reiterated many of the positions from the initial ouster case, including inaccurate and untimely financial reporting, strain on auto dealerships, comptroller deficiencies, and leasing issues. The petition also requested Halbert be suspended from office until a final hearing is conducted.
Halbert had 20 days to respond, and she filed a motion to dismiss the case, but it was 21 days later on Aug. 23.
"Defendant's motion to dismiss is not an answer," the filing reads.
The motion by Myers filed Sept. 6, 2024, claims that motion to dismiss did not count as a response to the second petition due to it coming after the 20 day period.
Meyers also filed a request for an expedited hearing on the suspension of Halbert as Shelby County Clerk until the final hearing can be had.
A motion hearing in the new case to decide the motion for default judgment and the suspension filing is set for Friday, Sept. 13.
Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson granted a motion to dismiss the original case to oust Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert from office in June.
That petition was filed by Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty Wamp on behalf of the State of Tennessee to remove her from office as Shelby County Clerk, after Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy recused himself from proceedings.
Corbin-Johnson said in court that the Hamilton County D.A. did not have the authority to bring the ouster proceedings, as Tennessee law requires those proceedings to involve the same jurisdiction as the elected official in question. In Halbert's case, the ouster proceedings would have to come from Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy's office.
The initial filing said that Halbert consistently fails to turn in monthly reports to the trustee in a timely manner and said there is no legitimate reason for the failure to do so. The petition also said the reports were inaccurate “with collected dollar amounts not added properly."
The petition alleged Halbert's reporting became so "untrustworthy," that the Shelby County finance department had to stop submitting the final reports in a timely manner because the inaccuracies were jeopardizing Shelby County budgetary numbers.
According to that petition, Halbert maintained she did not have the funding to fully staff her office but was consistently under budget and had historically given a "significant amount" of her budget back to the county at the end of each fiscal year.
The filing also said that the county estimated that Halbert's office owed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Shelby County government due to financing technology issues with the county.
It also said that the "neglect of duties" had a strain on Shelby County businesses, specifically car dealerships who rely on the Clerk's Office to conduct business.
Wamp said after proceedings she believed a Shelby County Attorney could file to remove a county elected official and would be in a good position to pick up the proceedings.
In the latest move to oust Shelby County Court Clerk Wanda Halbert, county attorney Robert Meyers filed a motion Friday asking the court for a default judgment and her immediate removal.
This is all part of the second ouster petition filed against Halbert in 2024. The first case, filed by Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp, was thrown out on a legal technicality.
The second complaint, which was filed by Meyers in early August, reiterated many of the positions from the initial ouster case, including inaccurate and untimely financial reporting, strain on auto dealerships, comptroller deficiencies, and leasing issues. The petition also requested Halbert be suspended from office until a final hearing is conducted.
Halbert had 20 days to respond, and she filed a motion to dismiss the case, but it was 21 days later on Aug. 23.
The motion by Myers filed Sept. 6, 2024, claims that motion to dismiss did not count as a response to the second petition due to it coming after the 20 day period.
Meyers also filed a request for an expedited hearing on the suspension of Halbert as Shelby County Clerk until the final hearing can be had.
A motion hearing in the new case to decide the motion for default judgment and the suspension filing is set for Friday, Sept. 13.
Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson granted a motion to dismiss the original case to oust Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert from office in June.
That petition was filed by Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty Wamp on behalf of the State of Tennessee to remove her from office as Shelby County Clerk, after Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy recused himself from proceedings.
Corbin-Johnson said in court that the Hamilton County D.A. did not have the authority to bring the ouster proceedings, as Tennessee law requires those proceedings to involve the same jurisdiction as the elected official in question. In Halbert's case, the ouster proceedings would have to come from Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy's office.
The initial filing said that Halbert consistently fails to turn in monthly reports to the trustee in a timely manner and said there is no legitimate reason for the failure to do so. The petition also said the reports were inaccurate “with collected dollar amounts not added properly."
The petition alleged Halbert's reporting became so "untrustworthy," that the Shelby County finance department had to stop submitting the final reports in a timely manner because the inaccuracies were jeopardizing Shelby County budgetary numbers.
According to that petition, Halbert maintained she did not have the funding to fully staff her office but was consistently under budget and had historically given a "significant amount" of her budget back to the county at the end of each fiscal year.
The filing also said that the county estimated that Halbert's office owed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Shelby County government due to financing technology issues with the county.
It also said that the "neglect of duties" had a strain on Shelby County businesses, specifically car dealerships who rely on the Clerk's Office to conduct business.
Wamp said after proceedings she believed a Shelby County Attorney could file to remove a county elected official and would be in a good position to pick up the proceedings.