The five Superior Court judges of the Augusta Judicial Circuit have recused themselves from presiding over two civil lawsuits filed against Mayor Garnett Johnson. Johnson’s legal troubles, meanwhile, could be coming to an end.
The legal issues, which have no connection to Johnson’s duties as mayor, came to light after Wells Fargo filed lawsuits in March seeking court judgments totaling more than $1 million against Johnson, his wife and three businesses they own.
The Johnsons had quit making payments on what had been a $1.037 million Small Business Administration Loan and a $150,000 line of credit, the bank contended in the lawsuits.
Wells Fargo sent notices of default in August and December then declared principal, interest, late fees and attorney fees in combined excess of $1 million immediately due, according to court filings.
Johnson, who placed his Telfair Street office building on the market last month, hasn’t said much about the lawsuits. In a statement, he said the suits reflect the challenges of running a small business but have no connection to his role as mayor. The self-made businessman owns an office equipment and furniture company.
Johnson, his wife Toni Seals-Johnson as well as their businesses Augusta Office Solutions, LLC, and Modern Business Workplace Solutions LLC are named as defendants in the smaller claim. The large claim adds as a defendant G&T Johnson Properties, LLC, which owns the office building.
Bank sought judgments by default
The cases briefly idled in the court system, assigned to judges Jesse Stone and Amanda Heath. Then on May 28, Wells Fargo asked the court to enter judgments by default in both cases because the defendants had filed no answer or response whatsoever with the court.
The bank’s motions for default said as of May 22 the defendants owed some $834,679 in principal, $21,488 in interest and $108,871 in attorney’s fees on the SBA loan, which they took out in 2020. On the line of credit, issued in 2019, they owed $186,786, including $17,042 in attorney’s fees.
Judges recuse themselves
Wednesday, the five judges filed an order of recusal and requested a qualified Superior Court judge from outside the circuit be assigned to the case. The order offers no explanation for them declaring they must recuse, but the requirement often follows a financial or personal connection.
Besides being personally acquainted with most of the judges, as a voting member of the Augusta Commission Johnson helps develop and approve the budget for the court system.
Court filings did not show a new judge had been assigned to the case as of Friday. By the time the judges recused themselves, however, the bank and the Johnsons announced they were nearing a settlement.
On Tuesday, they filed a joint notice of settlement in both cases. It stated the parties had “reached a settlement in principle,” and asked the court to delay any action on the bank’s requests for judgments to give the parties time to finalize the settlements. The notices were signed by Wells Fargo lawyer Kathleen Furr and Thomson attorney Charles W. Wills.
