Legal counsel representing both the City of Fernley and expelled City Councilman Stan Lau are still in the process of drafting a formal written order following an Aug. 11 court hearing in which a district court judge denied Lau’s request for a preliminary injunction seeking to overturn his expulsion from the council.
Attorney Jeff Dickerson said the legal teams received the certified court transcripts Sept. 18, beginning a meticulous process of converting the judge’s spoken directives into a proposed written order. Legal counsel Sean Lancaster, representing the city, is preparing his portion of the joint order, while opposing counsel is drafting theirs.
The collaborative process is intended to ensure the final document reflects the rulings and language delivered from the bench. Dickerson estimated the drafting process may take up to a week to complete. He said the judge has requested a status report Oct. 2 if the orders have not been submitted by then.
At the Aug. 11 hearing, Judge Leon Aberasturi also affirmed his earlier ruling that the City Council violated the state’s Open Meeting Law when it expelled Lau on March 4, leaving the two sides divided over what the decision means for Lau’s status on the council.
Aberasturi directed Dickerson to prepare an order regarding the Open Meeting Law ruling and Lancaster, who represented the city alongside City Attorney Aaron Mouritsen, to prepare the order denying the preliminary injunction. The proposed orders were originally to be submitted to the court by Sept. 11. The judge will review and finalize the orders before entering them.
Dickerson and Mouritsen disagreed over whether the ruling meant Lau could reclaim his seat on the council because the judge’s ruling did not address corrective action taken by the City Council on April 15 under a new agenda item to expel Lau.
Mouritsen said that issue was not addressed by the judge because Lau’s pleadings did not ask the court to consider it. He said additional litigation may be filed to resolve that portion of the dispute.
A court clerk said Sept. 21 that no additional filings had been made in the case.
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