DAHLONEGA — A bank’s lawsuit claiming congressional hopeful Tom Graves and State Rep. Chip Rogers defaulted on a $2.2 million loan is without merit, Graves said Thursday, and blamed its dissemination to the news media on 11th-hour “gutter politics.”
Graves’ opponent in the 9th District House race, Lee Hawkins, said his campaign had nothing to do with spreading word of the lawsuit, which he said he had not seen.
The lawsuit was filed Jan. 7 in Gordon County Superior Court by Bartow County Bank. The suit did not come up as a topic of discussion during Thursday’s debate between Hawkins and Graves, held by the Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce and Dahlonega Women’s Club.
Instead, both candidates gave opening statements and took turns answering questions on the issues submitted by area residents and compiled by the chamber.
The lawsuit alleges on Jan. 21, 2009, Bartow County Bank lent $2.25 million to Graves’ and Rogers’ real estate company, Tich Hospitality, for the purchase of property in Calhoun.
The suit claims the note is now in default, and also alleges Graves “was insolvent in that his liabilities exceeded his assets, and he did not have the ability to pay his obligations as they matured.”
In an answer to the suit, Graves and Rogers say the initial loan was made in January 2007, and that in January 2009, the bank agreed to extend the maturity date to February 2011.
Graves and Rogers filed a counterclaim against the bank, alleging fraud for going back on a promised refinancing of the loan.
Graves and Rogers are due to give a deposition in the case on June 30, according to court documents.
The special election to fill the 9th District U.S. House seat vacated by Nathan Deal is June 8. The two also are on the July 10 Republican primary ballot.
Prior to Thursday’s debate, Graves told The Times that the lawsuit’s dissemination to news media was “political gamesmanship by our opponent.”
“We’re in the 11th hour of this campaign and you’re going to see every dirty trick pulled out, and this is another example of where our opponent chooses to use personal destruction to advance his political career.” Graves said.
The Graves campaign has earlier accused Hawkins of sending out misleading mailers showing unrelated court documents that were inaccurately labeled with the word “judgment.”
Hawkins said prior to Thursday’s debate that no one in his campaign had been spreading word of the lawsuit.
“It may be one of my supporters,” Hawkins said. “I have not seen it.”
Hawkins said he wasn’t going to mention the lawsuit during Thursday’s debate.
“I want to stay on the issues tonight — not this issue, issues that are of interest to these people,” Hawkins said.
Graves said he believed the lawsuit was without merit and he would prevail.
“Anyone can make a claim against you,” Graves said. “We have a very strong counterclaim against them, one which we expect to be successful in. We believe in the judicial system in America, and believe that when all the facts are out there, the right outcome will occur.”