Government Dismisses Suit Against Esther Helton

The federal government has dismissed its lawsuit against East Ridge Councilwoman Esther Helton.

According to court documents obtained by East Ridge News Online, the civil suit filed on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service, was dismissed “without prejudice” pursuant to several terms.

The Stipulation of Dismissal states that Mrs. Helton “shall inform counsel for the United States when the Internal Revenue Service has reached a final determination regarding Mrs. Helton’s request for Innocent Spouse Relief.”

The filing also states that “the statute of limitations on the tax liabilities jointly assessed against Mr. and Mrs. Helton shall continue to toll against Mrs. Helton until such time that she informs counsel for the United States of the (IRS’s) final determination regarding her (request for innocent spouse relief) and for 30 days thereafter.”

The filing also states that if a final determination is made that Mrs. Helton is not entitled to Innocent Spouse Relief, the government may add her as a party to the original suit or file a new complaint against her to reduce her tax liabilities to judgement.

A suit filed in February in U.S. District Court claimed that the couple owe personal income taxes for 2012 and 2014 totaling $20,651. The suit alleged that East Ridge Municipal Court Judge J. Cris Helton owes taxes on his law practice from 2004 through 2007, and also for 2009 in the amount of $408,321.

Federal court records show that Mr. Helton filed for an extension of time to respond to the complaint on March 21.

The Helton’s divorced last summer.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.