City Lawsuit Against LIFE Institute Still Pending

Despite a petition from the president of the Louisville Metro Council, the city is still pursuing its lawsuit against the LIFE Institute.Three months ago, Council President Jim King, D-10, asked Mayor Greg Fischer to drop the case against the non-profit group, which was connected to the summer jobs program run by former Councilwoman Judy Green.LIFE Institute was the fiscal agent of a $55,000 grant that Green secured, which was at the center of her year long ethics controversy . An internal audit  found $28,000 of the funds were unaccounted for and the city has since sued LIFE Institute to recover the missing funds.However, testimony from witnesses in the ethics hearings and later expulsion trial revealed Green and her husband ran the program and not the organization's leaders.LIFE Institute CEO Eddie Woods says the group hasn’t heard anything from the city about dismissing the suit, but are waiting on a response from the Fischer administration."From where I’m sitting no response is better than a negative response. I figured when they got around to it they’d take care of it. I’m kind of at a place that I’m kind of gun shy dealing with Metro (Government) anyway," he says.In September, a Fischer spokesman said the mayor would consider the request and make recommendations to Jefferson County Mike O'Connell given the unanimous decision by the council to expel Green from office . However, in a recent interview with WFPL, the mayor’s office indicated the decision to drop the case is being left to the county attorney's office.A county attorney spokesman says the office is waiting on discovery responses from LIFE Institute and the suit is progressing and is in the discovery phase. Meanwhile, Woods says the suit hasn’t been a hindrance to the group’s work with at-risk youth, but it is frustrating that they are still dealing with the case."I would have hoped that we would have gotten to it a little bit sooner, but it’s one of those things that you figure it will happen in its own proper place and time. That’s where I’m at with it. When that happens, I’m sure we’ll get a letter," he says.