Discovery in $1.5 million DAPC suit ongoing

A tentative agreement has been reached between Peachtree City and officials of Peachtree National Bank on a discovery issue in the suit the bank has filed against the city over $1.5 million in unpaid loans from the city’s development authority.

The loans were acquired by the development authority to pay for construction and operating costs for the tennis center and amphitheater. The Development Authority of Peachtree City is named as a defendant in the suit, along with the Peachtree City Tourism Association, which is now operating both venues.

The discovery process, in which both sides are required to share information that could be pertinent to the suit, has been delayed while attorneys have battled over what material should be shared between the parties.

The new agreement, which has not yet been signed, was sought by attorneys for the bank to prevent some of its more sensitive documents from being disclosed to the general public.

According to City Attorney Ted Meeker, the agreement would protect such documents as minutes of loan committee meetings to the extent that they couldn’t be released to anyone but an interested party in the case.

In other words, such sensitive bank documents could only be disseminated by the city to city employees working on the case and any consultants hired for the case, but not to anyone who isn’t a direct party to the litigation, Meeker said.

At its Oct. 20 meeting, the Peachtree City Council unanimously voted to authorize Meeker to sign that protective order.

Another discovery issue that has slowed the case down involved a protective order the city sought to prevent disclosure of a significant amount of documents, some of which, the city alleged, should be in the bank’s possession. The city later dropped its petition for that protective order.

Discovery in the case has been extended for another 90 days, after which depositions will be taken from attorneys on both sides.

The bank has petitioned the court for a jury trial on the dispute.

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