Ojai City Council member Leslie Rule faces the prospect of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorneys' fees as a result of a lawsuit filed against her by a group of residents.
The April 2023 lawsuit filed in Ventura County Superior Court alleges Rule violated
the state’s open meeting law by disclosing information from closed-session meetings. The plaintiffs and their lawyer said the case has been settled.Known as the Brown Act, the state law prohibits the disclosure of certain communications made during closed-door sessions.
Under the settlement, Rule agreed to the judgment against her and must pay attorney’s fees and costs, which plaintiffs said amounts to $380,000, according to the release. In exchange, the plaintiffs agreed not to take
the case to trial.
"This is from the plaintiffs," Rule initially said Sept. 22 by phone. "They can say whatever they want."
She later offered a statement, wishing them well.
"I wish the Byrne plaintiffs well and hope they can move on to more important things," she said of David Byrne and the six others involved in the lawsuit. "For me, that means addressing the things that the regular citizens of Ojai actually care about."
A document, sent via email from the plaintiffs' attorney, states that an amount of $380,000 as reimbursement for any expenses and attorneys' fees is to be paid to the plaintiffs' lawyer, Brian Acree. The document appears to bear Rule's signature.
How did council member get sued in the first place?
The lawsuit alleges that Rule and her former attorney, Jon Drucker, disclosed confidential information after she attended closed-session City Council meetings in December 2022 and January 2023.
The seven plaintiffs filed the suit on behalf of the public, seeking a court declaration that Rule violated state law and an injunction barring future violations, according to a Sept. 22 release from Acree.
The lawsuit against Drucker, whom the plaintiffs also accuse of violating the Brown Act, will move forward, the release says.
For his part, Drucker said that he has filed a motion for summary judgment of the case, which is expected to be heard Oct. 12.
"I'm hoping that the judge will see the light and dispose of the case," he said. A trial-setting conference is also scheduled on the same day.
A hearing on summary judgment for Rule was held on May 15 at Ventura County Superior Court, according to court records.
According to a May 18 ruling from Judge Mark Borrell, the plaintiffs moved for summary judgment, but "because the court finds that material issues of fact exist, the motion is denied."
Acree said the settlement agreement must be filed with the court, and he expects that to be completed before the end of the week. He said Rule could petition to be removed from the agreement, but doing so would be "very difficult."
In the Sept. 22 release, Acree said the Brown Act's prohibition against disclosing closed-session information is key to protecting the public's right to the council's attorney-client privilege.
“By leaking the confidential attorney-client privileged information, Rule was actually harming the citizens of Ojai,” he said.
The dispute stems from a Jan. 24, 2023 open-session council meeting. Rule publicly discussed a closed-session conversation involving a lawsuit filed against the city by community group Simply Ojai over the previous council's approval of a controversial apartment project in October 2022.
Rule said that during closed session, then-Mayor Betsy Stix recommended the city hire a specific outside law firm for potential litigation involving the project. According to Rule, Stix based that recommendation on a suggestion from Simply Ojai's attorney.
Rule said the recommendation represented a conflict because Simply Ojai had filed its own lawsuit related to the matter.
Simply Ojai attorney Sabrina Venskus is also one of two attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Rule and Drucker.
When Rule made the comments during the January 2023 open session, then-City Attorney Matthew Summers interrupted and said the closed-session details couldn't be disclosed publicly. Rule eventually stopped speaking but distributed copies of her prepared remarks.
The lawsuit against Rule and Drucker also says the attorney disclosed confidential information about closed-session meetings that Rule attended.
Lead plaintiff David Byrne said in the statement that Rule violated her oath of office, ignored urgent warnings from the city attorney and betrayed other council members in leaking confidential information.
"Her actions harmed our community by providing our city's legal strategy to an adversarial party," Byrne said.
The lawsuit was filed to reduce liability exposure for the city and taxpayers by preventing future illegal disclosures of confidential information by Rule, he said.
Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ojai council member could be on hook for hefty legal fees in lawsuit
