BURNET — A justice of the peace has dropped his lawsuit against Burnet County that claimed a fellow jurist was operating out of her jurisdiction, according to County Judge Donna Klaeger.
In a prepared statement released Monday, Klaeger said Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace James McElroy, private resident Phil Peeples and their attorney Bill Aleshire “announced that they were dropping their lawsuit against the county.”
The lawsuit, filed in February, claimed Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 Peggy Simon’s courtroom was outside her jurisdiction. She later moved to an office in Marble Falls, which is inside Precinct 3, but Kleager indicated it took some time to find that space.
While the county quickly found office space for another jurist whose courtroom was also outside his jurisdiction, it took longer to find quarters for Simon, officials said.
“Marble Falls was a different story,” Klaeger said. “After researching several buildings for sale, property to build, a rental which ended up being zoned incorrectly, a rental site was secured for JP No. 3. A review was given to moving the office to Bertram also. There is documentation to support that relocation of offices for both justices of the peace were ongoing.”
Klaeger said legal preparations against the suit have “cost the taxpayers thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours.”
McElroy was not available for comment Monday night.
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