Supervisors Wins Lawsuit Alleging Brown Act Violations

August 23, 2010

Tulare County Superior Court Judge Melinda Reed Monday adopted a tentative ruling which will result in the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against the Tulare County Board of Supervisors alleging Brown Act violations. (View Tentative Ruling)

Judge Reed ruled: “Petitioners’ second amended petition is based on speculation and unreasonable inferences. Thus Petitioner fails to allege facts showing that any type of policy making discussions affecting the general public or having to do with the county’s governmental interest have taken place.”

Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Steve Worthley issued the following statement:

“The decision by the court affirms the position of the Board that no Brown Act violations have ever occurred. The petitioners did not allege one fact that would support a lawsuit going forward which means that the lawsuit was completely spurious and without any factual foundation.”

Richard P. McKee filed the lawsuit in March 2010. The Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance Register and the California Newspaper Publishers Association later joined as plaintiffs. McKee argued that the Board of Supervisors violated the Brown Act – California’s open-meeting law – when eating meals together in numbers constituting a majority.

The Board of Supervisors maintained that they did not violate the opening meeting law by attending lunch together because discussions had during meetings were not within the scope of the Brown Act.

McKee filed several petitions. The Court sustained the Board’s Demurrer to each of the petitions because they did not allege sufficient facts to sustain a cause of action against the Board. The second demurrer was sustained without leave to amend, which means the petition will be dismissed.

Deputy County Counsel Julia Langley, who represented the Board of Supervisors, said the lawsuit should be dismissed within a few weeks.

"In my opinion, the court’s ruling was a correct and appropriate application of the law,” Langley said. “The petitions were based on speculation and flawed logic.”

Tulare County Counsel Kathleen Bales-Lange agreed.

"We are very pleased that the court recognized that the plaintiffs have not been able to plead a single fact showing a Brown Act violation, even though they have had three chances to do so,” Bales-Lange said. ”We will now be evaluating the legal basis for the Board to bring a motion for fees and costs."