The opinion
LARRY D. VAUGHT, Judge, concurring.
I agree that this case should be affirmed. I write separately to address the issue of the requested recusal of the special master. While I cannot vote to reverse based on our standard of review and the great discretion afforded to judges in the matter of recusal, I must express my discomfort in the way this case was handled.
In this day and age when lawyers and the legal system as a whole are treated with suspicion by many of our fellow citizens, I think lawyers should never accept an appointment as a special master when they have had an attorney-client relationship with one of the parties. Likewise, a circuit judge should never appoint a master who the judge knows has had such a relationship. The “appearance of impropriety” is a part of our Code of Judicial Conduct, and while appearances are in the eyes of the beholder, we should all maintain the highest standards.