The Bedford County district attorney has filed a lawsuit against the Bedford County commissioners for reneging on a plan to hire a new assistant district attorney, after that new hire resigned from her previous position and is now jobless.

In her lawsuit filed against the county, District Attorney Ashlan Clark said the newly hired assistant district attorney relied on the county’s offer and resigned from her employment to take the new position. Now, the single mother of four is unemployed and does not have health insurance for her and her children, Clark said in the lawsuit.

Court documents filed Monday morning in Bedford County court names commissioners Mike Stiles, J.R. Winck and Deb Baughman as defendants in the case.

According to the lawsuit, the assistant district attorney position became vacant on Sept. 30 due to a resignation. A prospective employee was selected for the opening and required paperwork was submitted to the Human Resources Department, which included a start date of Nov. 17 and a proposed salary.

On Oct. 30, the HR department notified Clark that the prospective employee was approved for hire after a meeting with the commissioners.

The prospective employee was notified of the hire and gave notice to her employer that she was resigning. The prospective employee signed the acceptance offer on Nov. 3, the lawsuit states.

Clark was told on Nov. 6 that the county was on a hiring freeze due to the state budget impasse. That was reiterated on Nov. 14 when Clark met with the commissioners about the issue.

Clark, in her lawsuit, maintains that the commissioners cannot ignore their moral and statutory duty to fund the district attorney’s office.

As of Monday, the commissioners have not provided a start date for the new hire, Clark stated in the petition.

Clark also points out that the assistant district attorney’s position was already included in the budget for the Office of the District Attorney.

The lawsuit states that failure to fill the vacant position is an issue of public safety. With the vacancy, the office saw a 33% reduction in its attorney labor force, “which is unsustainable and unacceptable,” according to the petition.

Clark contends the county should pay the prospective employee backdated to Nov. 17 and forward pending further hearing.

In addition, a solicitor should be appointed for the case and paid for by the county, the lawsuit states.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 11, in Courtroom 1.