Dowdy out as attorney for McComb selectmen sued by mayor
McComb selectmen will have to defend themselves against a lawsuit filed by Mayor Zach Patterson without the aid of board attorney Wayne Dowdy.
Dowdy told selectmen at Monday’s work session that he cannot represent them in the case and requested an agenda item for next week’s board meeting to have Jackson attorney Dennis Horn represent the board instead.
“All of you are my clients, and I cannot ethically take a side in litigation,” Dowdy said. “Anybody who had been attorney for the city of McComb would have confronted the same ethical conflict.”
Horn, who has offered his services at no charge for a separate suit the mayor filed against the board, should represent selectmen because the Mississippi Municipal League declined to do so since Patterson’s suit does not seek monetary damages, Dowdy said.
Barrett Welch
McComb Enterprise Journal
12/16/9
