COLUMBUS, Ind. — Bartholomew County Republican Councilman Matt Miller is seeking to have a lawsuit which challenges his residency in the county dismissed.
And the number of plaintiffs in the lawsuit has changed since it was filed on Sept. 9 in Bartholomew Superior Court 1.
Originally, the lawsuit listed plaintiffs as Bartholomew County Democratic Party Chairman Steve Schoettmer, as well as then-county council candidates Claudette Schroer, Olisa Humes and Tiffany Bosley.
Besides Miller, three members of the Bartholomew County Election Board — Jay Phelps, Jim Holland and Julie Schuette – were listed as co-defendants. Schoettmer said he included the election board in an effort to persuade them to launch its own investigation into Miller’s legal residence.
The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit two months after nearly a dozen residents of the Highland Ridge subdivision signed a petition that claimed the house Miller calls his legal residence is vacant.
That prompted a Democratic co-director at the Indiana Election Division to determine it was too late for the Democrats to file a challenge through the election board, according to Phelps, the county clerk who oversees all local elections.
Since Bartholomew County Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton and Miller are both Republicans, Worton recused himself from the case. A few weeks later, Brown County Circuit Judge Mary Wertz agreed to serve as special judge.
On Oct. 21, a motion to have Miller’s name removed from the ballot was denied by Wertz. In addition, the names of the four election board members were removed from the litigation as defendants because they had no jurisdiction in the dispute.
And when the votes were totaled on Nov. 3, all Republican incumbents – including Miller – swept the three county council-at-large seats by substantial margins.
On Nov. 23, Schoettmer and Bosley filed an addendum to their lawsuit that still contends Miller is not legally a Bartholomew County resident.
“And by his actions, (Miller) has forfeited the office, and is ineligible to serve the upcoming term,” the addendum states.
On Dec. 8, Miller submitted his own court documents to formally ask Wertz to dismiss the case against him. That same day, he also provided the court a legal brief, as well as evidence, that he claims supports his case, online court documents state.
For more on this story, see Saturday’s Republic.
