Judge awards plaintiff's attorney $95, denies $800 sanction

The attorney for a man who claims his wife of more than 20 years stole his retirement funds and left him without food and water in their bathtub after a fall will get $95 from one of the defendants in the case.

Madison County Associate Judge Clarence Harrison II ordered defendant Granite City Steel Federal Credit Union pay attorney Thomas Burkart $95 in copying fees he incurred after the credit union failed to produce documents related to plaintiff Thomas Dodd and his soon-to-be ex wife, Carol Dodd, as previously ordered.

Burkart did not get $800 in attorney's fees that he had asked for as a sanction.

Thomas Dodd is suing the credit union for allegedly accepting forged checks worth more than $190,000 that he claims Carol Dodd used to steal his retirement savings.

The suit also includes Ameren Services Company, the company that held Thomas Dodd's retirement accounts.

Dodd claims that Ameren should have caught the forgery.

The plaintiff's suit contends that Carol Dodd forged his signature to take the money and to open two accounts in her and her sister's name at the Granite City credit union.

Thomas Dodd further claims that Carol Dodd left him for days in a bathtub where he'd fallen without food or water.

The Dodds filed for divorce in 2007.

That case is pending before Madison County Associate Judge Steven Stobbs.

Carol Dodd and the other defendants deny Thomas Dodd's claims.

The $190,000 is currently in an account at the Bank of Edwardsville pending the outcome of the couple's divorce.

The credit union and Ameren have counterclaims pending against Carol Dodd.

Burkart filed for the sanction claiming that the credit union did not turn over all the documents required by an earlier court order until he went and searched for them himself.

Although Harrison agreed with Burkart on the copying fees, he declined to order the credit union to pay anything else as a sanction.

Madison County Circuit Judge Daniel Stack oversees the case.

The case was previously part of Madison County Circuit Judge Barbara Crowder's civil docket.

Burkart represents Thomas Dodd.

Alexander Wilson represents Carol Dodd.

Gary Meadows represents Ameren.

James Craney represents the credit union.

The case is Madison case number 08-L-606.