Friday, October 24, 2008
Rep. West Jr.'s Security Company Added To Lawsuit
Posted by Brantley Hargrove on Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 5:29 PM
Suing the Rep
The strange case of the alleged corporate shell game played by a local state rep’ got a little simpler today. The plaintiffs in a lawsuit that alleges Rep. Ben West, Jr. and his wife, Phyllis, attempted to evade liability after one of their hired goons roughed them up won a minor victory in court. The purpose of said hearing was to determine whether the West’s and their company, Securitech Inc. could be appended to the Meekses’ civil suit, alleging fraud, negligence and assault. Attorneys Karin Kelley and Jack Byrd failed, at this time, to get the West’s added individually. But the bigger victory for the Meekses may be successfully getting Securitech added to the list of defendants.
From the beginning, this case has treaded on gray areas replete with seeming corporate cup-shuffle switcheroos that the plaintiffs’ say make it difficult to determine which company in the West empire is accountable for what. It’s come to light that West himself may be in some financial trouble, what with a $300,000 tax lien over his head. A source familiar with the case said on condition of anonymity that Uncle Sam’s hefty bill is for nonpayment of payroll taxes. But if Kelley and Byrd are able to prove West mismanaged the business finances, they may be able to hold him liable even if he’s broke.
Oh, and a small update on the ever-changing Securitech website: It's gone.
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