Remove ImagesMayor Beats In-law Lawsuit
November 15, 2012
Greensboro Mayor Robbie Perkins is in some financial difficulty.
The Internal Revenue Service has a lien for back taxes on his home and property, and the Perkins' home in Irving Park is being foreclosed on by the bank.
He is being sued by his estranged wife, Carole Perkins, for alimony and child support. They have been legally separated since September 2011, before Robbie Perkins was elected mayor.
But there was some good news for Robbie Perkins in court last week.
Robbie Perkins was also being sued by his father-in-law, Bob Dabbs, for $16,000. Robbie Perkins won that case on summary judgment, which means the judge decided that there were no material issues of fact involved and there was no need for a jury to hear evidence and make a decision.
Dabbs was suing because he wrote Robbie Perkins a check for $16,000 on Feb. 19, 2009. Dabbs said the $16,000 was a loan to pay the tuition at Greensboro Day School for Robbie and Carole's youngest daughter, who is his granddaughter.
Dabbs said he had loaned Robbie Perkins money before to buy a car and that Perkins had paid him back with interest, so he thought it would be OK to loan him some more money without a formal written agreement.
Dabbs said the case was decided against him by North Carolina Superior Court Judge Patrice Hinnant because he didn't have a promissory note, a written contract or a "meeting of the minds" about the $16,000.
Dabbs said, "I'm retired on a fixed income and the man took advantage of me."
He added, "They are going through a messy divorce and I'm having to support my daughter. I'm having to put food on her table and gas in her car and having the yard mowed because he's not paying her anything."
Dabbs said that Robbie Perkins was not paying child support and hasn't paid his daughter more than $1,000 since June.
He said, "What kind of man would have children and not pay child support?"
Dabbs said that he filed suit because the statute of limitations was about to run out and he hadn't been paid back. He said in retrospect he should have gotten a promissory note, but he added, "I'm out $16,000 but there are a whole lot more people with me." Dabbs said that Robbie Perkins owed other family members money as well, and that if he had known about the IRS lien on Robbie Perkins property he would not have filed the lawsuit because he knew the IRS would get paid first.
According to the lawsuit filed by Carole Perkins in April of this year for alimony and child support, Robbie earned an income of over $459,000 a year from 2006 through 2010. The lawsuit asks the court to establish "child support to meet the reasonable needs of the minor child based upon her standard of living."
Dabbs said he was having to sell property and borrow money himself in order to support his daughter and granddaughter because Robbie Perkins was not paying for anything.
Robbie Perkins said, "Put one quote in your story from me. I refuse to comment and there are two sides to every story."