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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Lawyer sues Chapmanville attorney for failing to pay for services

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CHARLESTON – An attorney is suing Benjamin F. White and his law office after she claims they failed to pay for services provided.

Benjamin F. White-Attorney at Law PLLC also was named as a defendant in the suit.

On Oct. 21, 2013, the defendants engaged the services of Sherri Goodman Reveal, who is doing business as Sherri D. Goodman/Goodman Advocacy, for the defendants to be represented by the plaintiff in a lawyer disciplinary matter, according to a complaint filed June 15 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Reveal claims during the course of representations, the plaintiff expended her time, services, costs and expenses, which remain unpaid, in the amount of $11,622.

The defendant has been provided, repeatedly, with an accounting of legal fees, costs and expenses and has failed and refused to pay them, according to the suit.

Reveal claims the defendants’ actions constitute a breach of contract.

Reveal is seeking judgment in the amount of $11,622 with pre- and post-judgment interest, as well as punitive damages. She is being represented by Mark McMillian of Mark McMillian-Attorney at Law LC.

In 2013, White was charged with assault and battery of a police officer. Those charges were dismissed in 2015. White was accused of making an obscene gesture toward three State Police troopers as he was walking past them in Giovanni's restaurant in Chapmanville. He was also accused of obstructing a police officer.

Senior Trooper T.D. Boggs authored the criminal complaint, claiming that the officers had dealt with White before and knew that he had a "disdain for law enforcement" and had previously been aggressive toward law enforcement.

White was also known to carry a weapon, according to the complaint, so Boggs asked him to leave the restaurant to ensure there would not be a confrontation. Boggs claimed White refused, became belligerent, and began yelling and cursing. White also stepped toward Boggs aggressively, according to the criminal complaint.

Boggs claimed he feared White was going to strike him, so she shoved him away and advised him that he was under arrest. While the police were attempting to arrest him, White pulled away and shoved Boggs, according to the complaint.

White's attorney, Timothy Koontz filed a motion to dismiss, stating that after Boggs shoved White, White pushed the officer away. Police then tackled him, put him on the floor and took him into custody.

In the motion to dismiss, Koontz argued that White's arrest was illegal, as it was in retaliation for the exercise of speech protected under the First Amendment and that White was allowed to resist an illegal arrest.

Koontz argued that charging White with obstruction was improper because the officers were eating dinner and, according to state law, to be guilty of that charge, one must interfere with an officer while they are acting in an official capacity.

Koontz said the state troopers in Logan had charged White with 19 traffic violations over a short period of time, most of which were dismissed.

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