By GARRET JAROS/Lincoln Chronicle
One legal dispute between Waldport Mayor Heide Lambert and the city council was settled Tuesday in Lincoln County circuit court, but it appears their disagreements might be far from over.
Presiding Judge Sheryl Bachart dismissed Lambert’s complaint against the council over her April 3 dismissal as mayor because the judge had already ordered her reinstated the day after Lambert filed a May 7 complaint and the council complied.
Tuesday’s circuit court proceeding lasted less than an hour as Bachart listened to arguments and asked questions of both Lambert’s and the city’s attorneys before making her ruling.
Bachart prefaced her decision by saying she was bound by the “pleadings in this case” which stemmed from the writ of review filed by Lambert’s attorney’s May 7 asking the court to reinstate her as mayor for what they alleged was an illegal removal.
Bachart reinstated Lambert as mayor May 8 and requested the city provide documentation supporting the council’s decision to remove Lambert. The city’s filings contended that Lambert violated a provision in the city which states in part “no council member shall directly or indirectly attempt to direct any city officer or employee under the city manager’s supervision in the performance of their duties. “
In nullifying its decision following Bachart’s order to reinstate Lambert, the council said it wanted to save taxpayer money needed to fight her reinstatement. At the same time the city filed a motion to dismiss Lambert’s writ of review because the reason for the writ – Lambert’s removal from office — had been rectified by her reinstatement.
On Tuesday, Lambert’s attorneys asked Bachart to deny the city’s motion to dismiss because the reasons for her removal were still in place and therefore nothing is stopping the council from removing her again until the underlying issues are settled in court.
Lambert’s attorneys also said the city’s letter to Lambert after her removal as mayor excluding her from city hall other than as a “general citizen” was still in effect.
But Bachart made clear Tuesday that her May 8 reinstatement decision nullified that exclusion.
“There was a change in her legal status which is that she was reinstated as mayor,” Bachart said. “So the exclusion notice, a common sense reading of that, would no longer apply.
In the lead up to her decision, Bachart said that she disagreed with the city’s contention that the position taken by Lambert’s attorneys is “just an intellectual exercise,” and that “… the legal arguments that Ms. Lambert’s counsel is making, they’re for good reason, given the conduct by the city in this case.”
“I find this particular case to be different than the cases that were cited by counsel,” Bachart repeated in her closing. “So for those reasons the court is granting the motion to dismiss.”
Bachart initially agreed to Lambert’s request the city pay for “costs and disbursements,” which includes court costs and fees, for fighting
the city’s exclusion. But after the city’s attorney Kelsie Crippen said the provision for costs does not allow for attorney’s fees the judge changed her decision.
But she added “Nothing in my order prevents her (Lambert) from pursuing a separate suit for the civil damages.”
Lambert’s attorney Tom Christ said afterwards they were entitled to file a separate lawsuit to ask for attorney fees as well as damages for emotional distress and inconvenience.
“And we will talk to our client and decide,” said Christ, who then met in private with Lambert before she spoke with the press.
“It’s exciting that the judge called me the prevailing party,” Lambert said. “So what that meant was she wasn’t siding against me. She just said she could only go as far as she could with this particular case. And I felt like she invited me to open a new case. So I will be looking into a civil case against the city. Because they never admitted wrongdoing and what they did was against the law.”
The Lincoln Chronicle reached out to the city Wednesday for its response about the decision to dismiss the case.
“We’re happy to see that it was dismissed,” city manager Dann Cutter said. “As we hoped.”
Cutter also addressed Lambert’s comments, which also appeared via video on social media following the decision, that she had prevailed.
“I think she’s certainly spinning it as a victory, but she absolutely filed and her attorneys filed in opposition to our motion and our motion was granted. So at the end of the day, I would say that she lost that round.”
- Garret Jaros covers the communities of Yachats, Waldport, south Lincoln County and natural resources issues for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com
Do the people of Waldport really want a mayor who’s major goal appears to be disruption and lawsuits?
Do the people of Waldport really want a city council and management that relies on childish behaviors to impose their will or would we rather there are adults in the room? Because, what I am reading about certainly doesn’t sound like cooperative decision-making to me. It sounds like clique politics, which as most of us know results in he said/she said arguments, exclusion and back stabbing. Not to mention taxpayer dollars going to court costs.
I would ask that the city council and the mayor would end this and continue with the business of the city. We don’t need lawsuits for hurt feelings. Let’s all work together to Make Waldport Great Again.