By Sean Keenan and Maria Saporta
A long-standing legal battle between Atlanta’s housing authority and its former CEO Renee Glover has come to an end.
On Thursday evening, during a specially called Atlanta Housing board of commissioners meeting, officials elected to authorize AH CEO Eugene Jones to settle all claims with Glover, who claimed she had been smeared by the City of Atlanta, which had alleged she facilitated so-called “sweetheart” land deals with real estate developer Integral Group.
“The board authorized payments for legal fees and potential taxes of up to $1.3 million, with $523,177 to be refunded to the authority if Ms. Glover incurs no tax liability,” says an AH statement sent to Saporta Report. “Atlanta Housing acknowledges Ms. Glover’s past contributions serving as CEO of AHA.
In 2017, the City of Atlanta sued Glover, Integral Group, and the development company’s founder and CEO Egbert Perry, claiming AH’s ex-CEO leveraged her position to wrongly give the company sweetheart land deals.
The impetus for those lawsuits came from then-Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who had been at odds with Glover and Perry during most of his administration.
The city, soon after Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms took office, ultimately dropped the suit. But Glover fired back, demanding retribution for her legal troubles and what she considered a smear campaign. She asked the court to have AH reimburse her for legal expenses she’s racked up over the past few years. (According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Glover had spent more than $300,000 during the long legal melee.)
The city had previously architected a settlement with Glover to the tune of $265,000, although, after the AH board of commissioners neglected to act on the settlement for months, she withdrew support from the deal, her attorney previously told Saporta Report.
Now, Glover tells Saporta Report she feels as if a tremendous weight has been lifted off her shoulders. “I am relieved that this three-year nightmare has been brought to an end and justice has been served,” she said in a statement. “I also believe that this settlement agreement represents a complete vindication of the baseless, false, and vindictive allegations brought against me by the City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Housing Authority after 19 years of exemplary and transformational service to AHA, its residents, and the City of Atlanta.”
Yet another gift to the taxpayers from former Mayor Kasim Reed. His successor seems to be in duck-and-cover mode.