A settlement conference scheduled for Friday—the civil case of Hole in the Wall Waterfront Restaurant versus Mathews County Board of Supervisors—was canceled after HITW owner Mac Casale decided to part ways with his attorney.
At the request of Mathews County Attorney Andrea Erard and with a note of acquiescence from Hole in the Wall attorney Tommy Norment, Judge Jeffrey W. Shaw signed an order on Nov. 3 directing the two parties to participate in the settlement conference. But an email exchange shared by board of supervisors’ chairman Tim Doss shows that Norment subsequently requested that the settlement conference and all pending court hearings be continued until the beginning of February.
Doss said in a note that the county agreed to continue the hearing date, but a subsequent email from Norment stated that Casale “is an absolute ‘NO’ on settlement” and that it had apparently caused issues in their relationship. Then, on Nov. 26, Norment asked the court to permit him to withdraw as l...