County answers stone suit - asks for back rent
By Dwight Otwell

Cherokee County has answered a suit by Robert Garland demanding $60,000 because the county sold his stone by asking the court to grant over $78,000 in back rent owed by Garland to the county.

Garland filed suit on April 16 on behalf of Vengeance Creek Stone, Inc.. The suit asks for in excess of $50,000 because of conversion by the county of Garland's property, $10,000 in punitive damages and attorney's fees.

The county dated an answer to the suit Thursday, June 14. The county's answer stated that Garland was originally supposed to pay $2,200 a month starting in July 2000 for buildings and property at the Old Farmer's Market. The lease agreement was through June 30, 2010.

The answer to the suit states that Vengeance Creek

Continued from page 1A Stone's last rental payment was for $600 in December 2004. The county asked Garland to pay rental obligations of $78,545.48.

The county also asked that Garland pay attorney's fees, including 10 percent of the amount of any rental that may be collected by suit or by an attorney.

Garland's suit states that Vengeance Creek Stone was in the business of extracting and marketing natural stone for building and landscaping purposes and that on June 11, 2004, the Cherokee County Sheriff's office conducted an execution sale of numerous items of Garland's property.

On October 1, 2004, Superior Court Judge Zoro Guice set aside the sale of Garland's property and ordered that the property be returned to Garland.

The suit against Cherokee County states that Vengeance Creek Stone has never received part of the items of property sold at the execution sale. The suit states that Cherokee County converted some of the stone to its own use without the consent of the plaintiff.

The county answered the suit stating that the county has no functions or duties with regard to executions sales conducted by the sheriff and the county did not convert Garland's property to its own use. The county also stated that Cherokee County was never served with any notices of hearings, motions, orders or any other information regarding lawsuits involving Garland and another company, which purchased some of Garland's stone in a sheriff's sale.

The answer to the suit states, "It is admitted that the county manager was under the impression that certain pallets of stone which were at the old Farmer's Market property were abandoned property and 82 whole pallets and nine broken pallets of stone were sold to Steve Jordan for the purchase price of $11,001. The county manager had no knowledge of a lawsuit between Garland and Lon Thomas of Star Stone Quarries, Inc."

The answer stated that the county manager believed he was acting lawfully and properly to sell what he believed to be surplus county property because he had no knowledge that the pallets of stone were the property of Garland. The county manager had no intent to convert Garland's property and 82 whole pallets and nine broken pallets of stone have been returned to the site from which the stone was originally removed at the old Farmer's Market.

Garland Monday, said he was informed that last week the county used the county dump truck and trailer to haul the rock sold to Jordan back to the old Farmer's Market site.

On March 14, Garland demanded that the county deposit $50,831 with the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Georgia because it sold his rock illegally.