Former Butler County commissioners Jim Eckstein and Dale Pinkerton may be out of office, but a legal claim against Eckstein by Pinkerton and others still continues.

Jury selection for a defamation suit against Eckstein is set for April 18 — four years after the case began.

Two lawsuits — one filed by Pinkerton and the other filed by county personnel director Lori Altman and her husband, state Trooper Scott Altman — accuse Eckstein of defamation, causing intentional infliction of emotional distress and placing the plaintiffs in a false light.

Eckstein is accused of spreading a false rumor that Pinkerton ensured that Lori Altman received a 20 percent pay hike in return for her husband preventing Pinkerton from being charged with drunken driving.

According to the complaints, there was no DUI stop and no cover-up.

Both suits were filed in April 2012, but later that month, they were consolidated into one case.

The trial in front of county Judge Kelley Streib is to begin April 20.

Doug Linn, the attorney representing Pinkerton, said he is confident in his case.

“We’re ready to go,” Linn said. “We were ready two years ago.”

He said he believes the jury understands the difference between right and wrong, and will believe that Eckstein’s alleged actions were wrong.

“I am confident in the jury,” Linn said.

Al Lindsay, the attorney representing the Altmans, only would say his clients are ready for the case.

“My clients are very anxious to get this matter to trial,” Lindsay said.

Eckstein said he is confident in his case.

“I’m innocent,” Eckstein said.

He claimed he was asked to settle, but he declined to.

“I’m not guilty,” Eckstein said.

Larry Rodgers, Eckstein’s attorney, said Eckstein’s position is that he is “100 percent innocent” of defamation, and said that settlement would admit to some kind of guilt.

“I know that my guy wants vindicated from these charges,” Rodgers said.

He said he is confident in Eckstein’s case.

“Absolutely,” Rodgers said.

Pinkerton and Altman did not return calls for comment.

A motion before the court from Eckstein for added discovery still is open. Depending on when the judge acts on this, the trial and jury selection dates could change.

Rodgers said the motion is just for routine discovery, saying it was his position at the time he filed it that discovery for the case still was open.

Linn said he opposed this motion, and Lindsay said he was not aware of it.

Linn said the four year time from the filing of a case and the beginning of the trial is a long time, calling the coming of the trial “overdue.”

Rodgers said the case has taken a long time to proceed, but noted that there are a lot of witnesses and there have been many depositions.

Lindsay also said that the discovery phase of the trial took a long time with a number of depositions.