LONGVIEW — A judge has ordered the city of Longview to cover the defense costs for four councilmembers being sued for allegedly violating the Open Public Meetings Act.
Pacific County Superior Court Judge Donald Richter ruled Wednesday afternoon that Longview would be added as a party on the lawsuit. While the councilmembers will continue to be sued in their individual capacities, Richter said the city was liable to cover their reasonable attorneys’ fees and legal costs.
Richter also fined the plaintiffs — former City Councilmember Mike Wallin and Longview residents John Melink and Tom Samuels — $500 each for filing improper actions with the court. The sanctions were largely a response to the original push for an injunction against Longview, which the plaintiffs dropped from the lawsuit earlier this month.
“It is your obligation that you understand the rules or to get appropriate legal advice to make sure you’re following the rules properly,” Richter said.
The lawsuit claims Mayor Spencer Boudreau and Councilmembers Erik Halvorson, Keith Young and Kalei LaFave broke the Open Public Meetings Act in March while working on a contract for interim City Manager Jim Duscha, after the same four councilmembers voted to fire former City Manager Kris Swanson.
The plaintiffs have also publicly claimed to have evidence of other decisions that were made outside of public meetings, though none of those alleged violations have been filed with the court.
Nick Power, the San Juan Island defense attorney representing Halvorson and Young, said a court decision would avoid the “veneer of self-dealing” that a city council action to cover its members’ legal expenses would reflect.
“It is absolutely inappropriate for citizens who get a paltry stipend for serving on the council should have to shoulder what are going to be significant legal expenses, so we’d ask for the court’s assistance,” Power said.
Halvorson and Young proposed, then dropped, a City Council resolution in April that would have similarly required Longview to help cover the defense expenses for councilmembers sued for actions taken on the council.
Richter specified that the decision would only cover reasonable expenses for the lawsuit. Richter asked Chehalis attorney Eric Carlson — who is representing Boudreau and LaFave — and Power to provide their rates to the court to help determine how much would be covered.
Samuels told the judge the three plaintiffs were “trying to get our heads wrapped around this as common citizens,” as they are representing themselves. Samuels previously told The Daily News via email the injunction had been dropped once Swanson accepted last month a new job in Battle Ground.
Richter did not dismiss the lawsuit entirely, which will move forward on the possible violations of the Open Public Meetings Act. The next court date has not been set.
