The records request at the basis of this article was done in response to a public call for the publication of documentation on legal fees made by Becki Gwinnett Hodges.
The lawsuit brought against the City of Brooklet by its own mayor has already cost the city more than $47,000 in legal fees and the litigation is still ongoing.
Background
Mayor Nicky Gwinnett has been at odds with his own city since it was discovered he was operating a business without a business license. Gwinnett’s business, G3 Ventures LLC, was established in February 2021 and, at some point, became the entity under which Gwinnett was operating a cabinet shop. The city could not issue a business license to Gwinnett because the property on Cromley Road, owned by G3 Ventures, is zoned R-1 single-family residential and cabinet shops fall under light industrial (I-1) or heavy industrial (I-2).
Gwinnett contended that the property had been used as a cabinet shop in the past, but when asked to provide documents indicating as much, Gwinnett did not offer any evidence. In March 2024, then-city attorney Hugh Hunter sent Gwinnett a letter:
“You have been adamant that you believe you have the right to continue to use this property as a cabinet shop based upon several reasons that you believe to be legally correct. One of those reasons is that you believe you have some sort of vested right to continue to utilize the property that is zoned R-1 because it was historically used as a cabinet shop. We have previously verbally requested that you present evidence of this historical use to demonstrate that the use of this property as a cabinet shop would qualify as a nonconforming use under the city’s zoning ordinance. To date, I am not aware of any such evidence having been presented.”
Gwinnett, through G3 Ventures, later requested the property be rezoned from R-1 to C-2 – a general commercial district, a request which was denied because a cabinet shop is not permitted under C-2.
In March of 2024, Gwinnett was given sixty days to cease violating the city’s zoning ordinance, though Gwinnett continued to seek rezoning to C-2.
On April 9, 2024, the Brooklet Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted in opposition to the application by Gwinnett and recommended that the Brooklet City Council also deny the application. The city council denied the application on August 15, 2024 in a 3-2 vote.
The dispute continued and in September 2024, G3 Ventures filed a formal suit in Bulloch County Superior Court. G3 Venture’s lawsuit contends that the city council’s decision was ‘arbitrary’ and violates Gwinnett’s rights as a landowner. It also claims that the city’s denial of the rezone ‘manifestly abused their rezoning power…amounting to a taking of [his] property rights without just and adequate compensation…” It asks a superior court to intervene to stop adverse and negative impacts caused by the denial.
Attorneys for the City argued that the suit should be dismissed in its entirety, but Superior Court Judge Michael Muldrew denied that request in April 2025. The City appealed to the Georgia Court of Appeals, but the higher court denied the request to review the case and sent it back down to Bulloch County Superior Court.
In July 2025, attorneys for the City sought to begin taking depositions for the case to move the case along, but Gwinnett said he was not available due to a vacation. In September 2025, attorneys for the City asked Judge Muldrew to compel Gwinnett and his attorney to comply with the discovery process because, after almost three months, they had not provided alternative deposition dates for Gwinnett, had provided incomplete interrogatory responses, and had not met the deadlines for other documents.
Court documents indicate that following the city’s request for judicial intervention, Nicky Gwinnett and his wife, Sandra Gwinnett, rescheduled their depositions for October 16.
Legal Fees
TheGeorgiaVirtue requested documents detailing the billable hours and invoices paid by the City of Brooklet to date. Under the Georgia Open Records Act, the specifics of an invoice for the city can be redacted if it details matters of attorney-client privilege and/or ongoing litigation, but the billable hours and the costs associated with those billable hours are subject to public release.
According to the documents provided to TheGeorgiaVirtue, the firm that represents the city on a routine basis, Oliver Maner LLP, has billed 30.25 hours for the litigation with G3 Ventures/Nicky Gwinnett. As a result, the city has paid $8,312.38 in invoices through November 5, 2025.
(Note: Oliver Maner has a number of attorneys and paralegals so work may be done by various people at different billable hour rates)
The firm retained to assist in the litigation, Smith Welch Webb & White, has billed 216.20 hours and the city has paid $39,137.11 in invoices through November 5, 2025.
Since Gwinnett filed his suit in September 2024, the City of Brooklet has paid a total of $47,449.19 on 246.45 billable hours.
As of November 6, the civil matter is otherwise still pending with no other depositions or court dates currently set.
Brooklet just cant get it sheet together. From the Police department, utilities, taxes, they continually have issues and make some form on news media whether local or national.
They let that POS chief retire…
Its a nice city – getting absolutely wrecked by incompetent, petty, ego driven people.
And this is why the south cant ever get on top.. everyone who should be in power doesnt want it, when they do, the corrupt good ol boys beat them away. And the people who dont need or deserve it, foam at the mouth for it… good for nothing do nothing but line their pockets garbage humans.