City officials wouldn’t release a copy of the claim Tuesday afternoon without a written form requesting it. But Hoyt did confirm that the claim had been made.
Hoyt wasn’t sure exactly what the claim alleged, but knew it had something to do with the lawsuit the Anniston Fraternal Order of Police filed against Spain in November.
“I glanced through it,” Hoyt said. “All I did was file it away.”
Spain resigned his council seat in December amid a number of entanglements with the legal system. A scuffle with the mayor during a September council meeting resulted with him being charged with assault. The only witness to the incident, which happened in a hallway leading to the council chambers, was the policeman who separated the two. In November, Spain was arrested and charged with violating the city’s Council-Manager Act, which governs the proper roles of city officials. The accuser was an Anniston police officer.
Later in November, the Anniston Fraternal Order of Police filed a lawsuit against Spain and Councilman Ben Little alleging long term harassment and violations of the Alabama Open Meetings Act.
Spain’s resignation was part of a plea agreement for which he was dismissed from the lawsuits.
Spain’s claim, like others filed with the city, will be evaluated by the city’s insurance company, Hoyt said. The company will decide whether or not it will pay.
“We turned it in (with) our normal claim process and it goes through our insurance company,” Hoyt said. “We get claims, little claims all the time -- every time some rock knocks out somebody’s windshield, you know.”
Attempts to reach Spain late Tuesday were unsuccessful.
In April, Little and his church, the Refuge Full Gospel Methodist Church, also filed claims with the city related to his arrest on nuisance property violations. Hoyt said those claims are still pending.
Contact staff writer Laura Camper at 256-235-3545.
