The former city clerk for the city of Ludowici who was terminated in November and arrested in January is taking steps to take legal action against the mayor and the city.
In a letter dated February 4, 2026, Mayor James Fuller Jr. was served with an ante litem notice indicating her intent to file a suit against Fuller in his capacity as the mayor of Ludowici. An ante litem notice is communication required under Georgia law which allows a government entity the opportunity to investigate a claim, ascertain evidence, and avoid unnecessary litigation. If a claim is not settled, a lawsuit usually follows.
Tina Beecher Skipper was arrested at the end of January on felony Theft by Taking charges and booked into the Pierce County jail due to Long County not having an operational jail. She was released on a $50,000 property bond the following day. She had previously worked for the City of Ludowici for twelve years until she was terminated in November 2025.
In the February 4, 2026 letter provided to TheGeorgiaVirtue.com, Ludowici-based attorney Paul Robertson of Robertson Law wrote that Skipper is taking legal action with regard to her alleged wrongful termination, defamation, malicious prosecution, and economic losses.
In a statement of facts, Robertson stated the following
On October 1, 2025, Mayor James Fuller JR. explained to the City Council that Mrs. Tina Skipper would begin receiving pay as a contract administrator for the Townsend Bombing Range Contract at a rate of 3% of the monies received. In a conversation outside of the city Council Meeting, Mr. Full and Mrs. Skipper discussed the contract administrator pay and he authorized her to begin the payments. Mrs. Skipper combined the payments with her regular paycheck for the next 6 pay periods and withheld the appropriate amount of taxes from the checks. Mayor Fuller informed Mrs. Skipper that the payments were to begin in 2026 and that any payments to her prior to 2026 were incorrect. Mr. Luke Moses, City Attorney, then advised Mrs. Skipper to return the overage that she had been paid as the contract administrator. Mrs. Skipper immediately wrote a check back to the City of Ludowici for $10,373.62 (although she was taxed $3,349.03). Subsequently, on November 20, 2025, Mrs. Skipper was terminated for alleged misappropriation of funds. On December 15, 2025, the termination was appealed. The appeal was denied by the same council that terminated Mrs. Skipper.
As part of the additional information listed that’s relevant to the claims, Robertson wrote that Skipper suffered the loss of pay until the retirement age of 67, retirement contributions and match, future grant contract income, unemployability, irreparable damage to reputation, defamation, mental anguish, and attorney’s fees. The ante litem notice seeks an amount of $1.9 million to settle the claims.
The letter requests that the City pull the following evidence and maintain it beyond any other records retention standards:
- All logs referencing or related to any and all City Council Meetings from September 1, 2025 to present.
- All video or audio recordings of any and all City Council Meetings from September 1, 2025 to present.
- Any emails, phone calls, audio recordings, electronic messages, letters, memos, or other documents concerning any and all City Council Meetings from September 1, 2025 to present
- A list of all employees involved in any and all City Council Meetings from September 1, 2025 to present.
- The entire personnel file of all employees involved in any and all City Council meetings from September 1, 2025 to present he [sic] subject incident.
- Any and all contracts entered into between Tina Skipper and the City of Ludowici, City Council, and/or Mayor James Fuller Jr.
- Any and all grants written by Tina Skipper for the City of Ludowici.
- Any and all text messages, emails, or written communications between any council members, city employees, or the Mayor in reference to Tina Skipper between September 1, 2025 and present.
The mayor and the city will have the opportunity to respond to Skipper’s legal counsel before further action is taken.
