An important consideration when selecting a city attorney is competence. The city council tried to gain control of the city attorney position (24-2640 April 15, 2024) but the mayor vetoed their proposal; thus the mayor "owns" this attorney. The attorney does what his client asks, but should also be giving advice regarding those requests. The Hoover city attorney defines his job via 11 items in the Terms of Engagement letter dated August 8, 2022 (see below). Two identify meetings he will attend (1 & 5) and four specify litigation not included in the flat fee (8,9,10,11), How does Hoover measure up?
(2) Keep the City informed as to all legislation affecting municipal government and that my impact the City;
October 8, 2024 the city repealed the grocery tax break because it did not meet the criteria of the state. https://hooversun.com/news/hoover-city-attorney-city-should-bear-cost-of-con-legal-bill/
(3) Render legal opinions when requested by you, the City Council, or City personnel;
In July of 2023 Mr. Corley was asked to render a legal opinion regarding the draft NPDES permit for Hoover; this was done in 30 comments. For example, comment 8 referred to comment letters Mr. Corley sent to ADEM regarding the NPDES draft permits for the cities of Homewood, Vestavia, Mountain Brook, Irondale and Tarrant in June 2022. By August 2022, ADEM rejected the premise that the cities should not remove debris and floatables from waterbodies because this required entering private property as argued by Mr. Corley. He repeated the same argument, without success in comment 8 approximately a year later.
(4) Supply legal advice to various City department heads and employees concerning City matters;
The city attorney has been added to the contact list in the 2024 MS4 (stormwater) annual report [https://al-hoover3.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/9752/2024-MS4-Annual-Report?bidId=]
Legal citations were added to the 2023 MS4 Annual Report and the draft SWMPP [https://al-hoover3.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/10278/Hoover-DRAFT-2025-Stormwater-Management-Program-Plan?bidId=]
ADEM wrote the mayor requesting the legal citations be removed from the 2024 MS4 Annual Report because those were not relevant. The citations were not removed and were added to the 2025 draft SWMPP.
(6) Prepare all resolutions and ordinances requested by the City;
(7) Review and certify City contracts, agreements and legal documents, as requested;
(Oct. 8, 2024 Hoover Sun) The city contract for Riverwalk that states the developer will pay the legal fees for the CON (certificate of need), however, when asked why the city was paying those legal fees (in excess of $1,00,000) Mr. Corley stated "it may say that be we always intended to pay those fees". City Attorney Phillip Corley, who also has worked with the Hoover Health Care Authority, said Monday night that “to be clear, it’s always been the intention of the Hoover Health Care Authority and the city for the Health Care Authority to apply for and hold the certificate of need for this development, for the city to bear the cost. “The confusion, I think, stems from a zoning amendment that says the developer will seek a certificate of need,” Corley said. “This statement was based off preliminary information submitted by a partner of the developer in the zoning amendment that was brought forward, the amendment to the Riverchase PUD, but that statement and the preamble to that zoning amendment is not binding on the city, the Health Care Authority or the developer, and it has no effect whatsoever on the development agreement that the city entered into with the developer.” (Jon Anderson Hoover Sun 10-8-1024)
September 2019 The council declared stormwater drainage at the Riverchase Crossings Shopping Center (location of Best Buy, Panda Express, Walgreens, etc.) a public safety hazard and public nuisance allowing the city attorney to sue two property owners. April 2025 the city council approved $4,000,000 to settle the Riverchase stormwater lawsuit. It is estimated the settlement cost $2,000,000 more than estimate in 2019; legal fees are in addition to the $4,000,000.
Consider these legal actions as well:
A lawsuit because the city refused to pay employee benefits while those (four) employees were deployed on military duty
Riverwalk and the CON
Trying to annex Indian Ford Fire District by going door-to-door
The Kroll Report