Bail Bond Company Sues Clerk Over List

Bail Bond Company Sues Clerk Over List

By John Lyon

Times Record • jlyon@swtimes.com

A dispute over the way bail bond companies’ names and phone numbers are provided to jail inmates has landed in court with the filing of a lawsuit against Sebastian County Circuit Clerk Nancy Brewer.

The dispute concerns a list of area bail bond companies that is posted in the adult and juvenile sections of the Sebastian County Detention Center. The list is provided for inmates who need to contact a bail bond agent from the jail.

In October, First Arkansas Bail Bonds contacted Brewer, who is responsible for keeping the list up-to-date, to complain about the company’s position on the list.

The company believed it should be moved to the top position, based on the wording of a state statute regarding such lists. The law states that bail bond companies are to be listed “in the order in which they initially register with the clerk.”

“Recently, First Arkansas’ agent did a little research and discovered that one of their agents was the first to register when this process began,” said Carl Bush, attorney for First Arkansas.

Bush said positioning on the list is important, because when inmates look at the list for someone to call, they usually start at the top.

Brewer said she researched the matter herself and found that after the law went into effect in 1989, area bail bond companies and agents began filing their licenses with the circuit clerk. The first such licenses to be filed, her research showed, were the licenses of two First Arkansas agents, both filed on April 7, 1989.

However, Brewer said First Arkansas’ company license was not filed until April 11, 1989. Spencer Bonding Services filed its company license earlier the same day.

The list formerly included both agents’ and companies’ names, but because of a change in the law it now includes only companies’ names. Brewer said she reasoned that Spencer should be at the top of the list because it was the first to file a company license, if only by a matter of hours.

On Tuesday, Brewer gave the jail a new list. Spencer was now at the top, with First Arkansas second and other companies listed in the order that their licenses were filed, as best she could determine.

The new list bumped Bob Cole Bail Bonds from the top position to the third. Brewer said her research showed that Bob Cole filed both company and agent licenses on April 18, 1989. Bob Cole Bail Bonds filed a lawsuit against Brewer in circuit court on Wednesday, asking for temporary and permanent injunctions reinstating the previous list. The suit notes that according to state law, the order in which bail bond companies are listed “shall not change from year to year.”

First Arkansas has filed motions in the case as an intervening party, arguing that it should be at least in the second position, if not the first.

On Wednesday, Circuit Judge Michael Fitzhugh granted Bob Cole’s request for a temporary injunction, and the new list was replaced with the previous one. No date has been set for a hearing on a permanent injunction.

Marvin Honeycutt, attorney for Bob Cole, said it is his understanding that the records concerning which company filed first are “in disarray.”

“I don’t believe that Spencer or First Arkansas filed before Bob Cole Bail Bonds Inc.,” Honeycutt said. “But let’s say for the sake of argument ... that they did. That was 17 years ago. If that was the case, they should have done something about it 17 years ago.”

Honeycutt said he believes the statute of limitations that applies to the case is five years, so it would have expired in 1994.

Bush said he is not sure a five-year statute of limitations applies to this case, but even if it does, it would not expire until five years after the matter came to light.

“Basically, it’s just been discovered recently, when some research was done by an agent of the company,” he said.

Brewer said it makes no difference to her who gets to be at the top of the list, and she will do whatever the court instructs her to do. Some believe the law at the center of the dispute is intrinsically unfair. Gregg Adams, an agent for Bail Bonds Now, said the law seems designed to favor older, more established companies over newer companies.

“It shouldn’t matter how long you’ve been in service in this town. I’d prefer a rotating list,” he said.

Bail Bonds Now is near the middle of the list, Adams said.

“I don’t know whether it’s fair or not,” Bush said. “I know the law is currently what it is. Whether the Legislature revisits this at some point, that’s really up to them, I suppose.”

_________________
Steve Faircloth
A Way Out Bail Bonds
(220) 204-9733 Cell
NSIN# SF0105
LIC. #704058

Isn't first arkansas the same bond company that lost a 750,000 bond and were contesting it? Did they ever catch that pedofile?

_________________
-The Solution-
Indiana Agency #: PI20700211
Indiana Notary Public - Exp: 12/20/13

"Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath."
- Kingdom of Heaven

Don, yes they are the company that lost that bond. It is under appeal with the Circuit Court of Appeals and we do not know when they will be placed on the docket. As far as finding the pedophile... No they have'nt.

I can't believe they have stalled the county so long on that bond.

They definately need to forfeit it... as I understand many offered to help track that guy but they just wouldn't accept it (probably didn't want to pay someone for it and figured they could get it exonorated).

_________________
-The Solution-
Indiana Agency #: PI20700211
Indiana Notary Public - Exp: 12/20/13

"Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath."
- Kingdom of Heaven

You are right Don! They think that they can get the judgement overturned on appeal. I tried for months to get them to even call me back and they would not. This company has no intention of ever paying off this forfeiture which also places another black eye on the rest of us here in Arkansas that bond.

I guess they want to be on the top of the list to make all the money they can before they get put out of business on this forfeiture.

Sorry, this childishness reminds me of too many bond agents I know. Being first may get them a phone call, but the real money comes from reputation. You get a bad agent, and it doesn't matter where they are on the list, they will eventually lose to a better person. This is something that too many agents never get.

I get most of the calls from my jail not only because I am the only local agent but also because I have an excellent rapport and reputation with our local jail, law enforcement, court and with the people who I have bonded out. I worked very hard to earn my reputation and I will continue to work hard to maintain it. They know that if it is one of them (yep) or family (yep, again) or a friend (uh-huh), all it takes is a phone call and I'm right there. The other side is that if I call and tell them that I am going to pick up someone here (courtesy call) they usually send an assist who gets there by the time we do.

An inmate who has used another bondsman consistantly and has been treated right will still use that agent even if the agent isn't local. Fortunately, I don't have to compete in the rate game since in my AO we pretty much stick to 10-15% (unless it's someone in the previous paragraph). The only other bondsman that does much business here (and I have taken a lot of his because I am local and he is 45 miles away) is a great friend and I never mind if he gets a bond over me. It's either one of his frequent flyers or someone that he can afford to do on credit more than I can. Frequent flyers, especially in a small town, are a large portion of our business, and if they go elsewhere it usually means there is a problem. Sometimes (as in my case) it's just location, but if you are in an area where there is a lot of competition, it's the reputation. We learned that by working for several of these high volume companies well before I got my bond license. Being a BEA with my hubby taught me a lot before I started writing bail. I am straightforward with every person(and cosigner) that I write and I tell them that if they jump, I WILL come after them. My ex-boss told me that I would lose bonds by being so abrupt, and I told him that if I did, it wasn't a bond I wanted. He's the one with the high dollar jumpers, not me. I also tell my bondees that if they miss court for unforseen circumstances or an emergency, that I will give them a consent and as long as the judge accepts it I will stay on the bond. I can't guarantee what the judge will do, so worse case, they may have to rebond, which as long as they come to me, I will do for them. I bend over backwards for my people and even most of the ones that I have had to re-arrest will vouch for that. Even after doing time for their crimes or sometimes new charges after my bond(s), they understand that I did what I had to and still keep in touch.

I can usually tell within 30 seconds if I will do the bond with just a few questions regarding money, collateral, cosigner, and record. Any hesitation, a bad record of FTA's, or desparation is an automatic red flag. I have only been writing bail for about 1 1/2 years, which is still rookie stage in my opinion, but I also only have about a 1% jump rate. I have had to pay one small bond. We picked him up 3 days later (dad turned him in, and yes I had dad on bond previously), and got reimbursed by the court 5 days after that.

IMHO, whine all you want about where you are on the lists. Sue to be first. In the end, nothing matters but your reputation. You either get a good bond or a bad one. It's up to you what you write.

_________________
Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
Sales Associate, Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.
Walsenburg, CO

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