The lawsuit alleges that Ramos was hired by the county to perform professional independent contractor legal services aside from his duties as elected county attorney, and that he failed to represent them in a lawsuit filed against Maverick County in 2011 through 2012, costing the county close to $120,000 in a settlement agreement and other expenses.
As a result of this lawsuit, Ramos has filed a counter-claim in the 365th District Court of Judge Amado Abascal, on the grounds that he was not guilty of having lost the federal claim.
According to the counterclaim, the lawyer was not notified in time that the Federal Court was requesting a response to the lawsuit, and Maverick County lost the case and was ordered to compensate those affected.
The lawsuit in question stems from an incident in which County Sheriff deputies and other federal law enforcement agents were sued by Jose Cabello for being wounded by gunfire at his home while a warrant of arrest was being executed during July 26, 2010. Law enforcement had raided the wrong home, claims the original lawsuit.
Cabello filed a lawsuit against the county and other agencies, but the County failed to answer the lawsuit petition in the allowed time frame. This led US District Judge Alia Moses to rule in default against the County and in favor of the plaintiff in February 2012. Ramos then requested that Moses vacate the judgment, and it was denied on September 30, 2013.
In December 2015 commissioners court discussed the issue during a meeting and requested that current general counsel Sanchez & Wilson investigate any legal standing of malpractice against Ramos that the county might have.
Maverick County Judge David Saucedo responded to the allegations by Ramos that the Maverick County Judge did not provide notice to him of a lawsuit that was filed against the County resulting in a Federal District Court granting a Default Judgment.
Saucedo stated that upon a review of the record, no allegations were made against the County Judge. The Federal District Judge, in her order, points directly to the attorney representing the County. In total the defendants waited over six months after learning of the entry of default before taking any corrective action.
According to Saucedo the failure to answer the complaint amounted to neglect because of the confusion surrounding insurance coverage, not because the County Judge failed to inform him for one month.