The City of Bloomington spent years trying unsuccessfully to expand to the west. Now a Monroe County judge has to decide how much the city will pay in legal fees to annexation opponents who challenged the plan.

The group representing residents outside the city who defeated the annexation attempt are seeking nearly $200,000 to pay their attorneys, according to a motion filed Friday in Monroe County Circuit Court.

Read more: Supreme court rejects city's annexation appeal of 1A and 1B

County Residents Against Annexation's motion said most of that amount represents legal fees incurred between October 2023 and May 2026. It's seeking an additional $7,500 in expected costs for responding to discovery requests.

Most of the total amount is for hundreds of hours of legal work by William Beggs and Ryan Heeb from the Bunger & Robertson law firm. In an affidavit filed Friday, Beggs wrote the amount was reasonable in light of the time spent working on the case and novelty of the legal questions involved.

The judge in the case heard arguments from both sides Friday.

Attorneys representing the city argued state law caps such payments at $37,500, according to the B Square Bulletin.

Bunger & Robertson is a financial supporter of WFIU/WTIU News.