NEWSMAKERS

Law office of Harper Lee’s father for sale

MONROEVILLE, Ala.

Before Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” made the fictional lawyer Atticus Finch one of the best-known names in modern American literature, the man who inspired the character – Lee’s father – practiced law in an old bank building in her hometown.

Long vacant, the two-story structure no doubt helped inspire a pivotal scene in Lee’s recently released “Go Set a Watchman,” according to a town historian. And for $125,000 or less, you could own it.

The old brick building that once housed the law office of A.C. Lee on the courthouse square is for sale in Harper Lee’s southwest Alabama home of Monroeville.

In Lee’s new book, “Go Set a Watchman,” Atticus’ office provides the setting for a climactic dressing-down of Finch, beloved for his sense of justice in Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” but revealed as a racist segregationist in “Watchman.” A.C. Lee, who served in the Alabama Legislature, was himself hesitant to embrace integration but became a supporter of civil rights before his death in 1962.

In real life, the two-story building has been empty for at least a decade. Part of the roof has separated from a wall, creating a gap that allowed water to enter the structure and cause damage to floors and wall, particularly on the second floor.

Though the asking price of $125,000 might be high for dilapidated property valued at $46,460 on county tax rolls, federal and state tax credits for historic preservation could help a new owner recoup as much as 45 percent of the cost, Bryan said.

Nick Gordon’s lawyers: Lawsuit is slanderous

ATLANTA

Lawyers for the partner of Bobbi Kristina Brown say a lawsuit accusing him of contributing to her death is false and slanderous.

The administrator of Bobbi Kristina Brown’s estate added a wrongful-death count to the lawsuit against Nick Gordon. It accuses Gordon of giving Brown a “toxic cocktail” and putting her face-down in water.

Gordon’s lawyers, Joe Habachy and Jose Baez, said the allegations are baseless. They said Gordon is “heartbroken” and called the suit a “fictitious assault.”

The 22-year-old daughter of Whitney Houston died in hospice care July 26, months after she was found face-down and unresponsive in a bathtub in her suburban Atlanta townhome Jan. 31.

Gordon hasn’t been criminally charged. The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office has said an initial autopsy revealed “no significant injuries.”

Associated Press