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Nevada finally settles with bail bond companies
By BRENDAN RILEY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - A drawn-out legal battle between Nevada and two Las Vegas bail bond companies ended Thursday with the state's approval of a $300,000 settlement that heads off a trial of the companies' lawsuit that was scheduled to start next week.
The state Board of Examiners, chaired by Gov. Kenny Guinn, approved the settlement with All Star Bail Bonds Inc., A Bail Bonds Inc. and six agents of the two companies after being told that various costs stemming from a trial could dwarf the $300,000.
The dispute started in mid-1998 when the state Insurance Division, which regulates bail bond companies, suspended All Star's license, accusing some of the company's agents of strong-arm tactics that included pointing guns at customers and threatening to kill them in disputes over bail.
The All Star license was suspended without a hearing, but was reinstated after the company, represented by prominent Las Vegas attorney Dominic Gentile, went to court. Gentile accused the state of using perjured affidavits, and the division's disciplinary case eventually was settled without anyone admitting fault.
Attorney General George Chanos, a Board of Examiners member, said that going through a lengthy trial of the companies' lawsuit and eventually dealing with a state Supreme Court appeal that likely would be filed by whoever lost at the lower court level "simply isn't justified."
The board was told that one of the agents who sued the state was seeking $5 million, and there were 178 separate claims in the case that has been dragging on for six years.
"Prevailing on one claim alone ... would expose the state of Nevada to a $150,000 obligation per injured plaintiff," a legal memo to the board stated.
The trial of the dispute was scheduled to start Monday in Las Vegas and last three to five weeks. Five state lawyers and four attorneys for the bail bond companies and employees have been involved in the case.
The civil suit accuses the state of trying to put the companies out of business through defamation, abuse of process, contract interference, violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act and constitutional violations.
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Steve Faircloth
A Way Out Bail Bonds
(220) 204-9733 Cell
NSIN# SF0105
LIC. #704058
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