By Jim Small | AZ Mirror
Arizona’s open meeting laws require that city councils, school boards and other governmental bodies authorize litigation in public votes, an appellate court ruled Tuesday.
The Arizona Court of Appeals invalidated the City of Flagstaff’s lawsuit against Desert Mountain Energy after concluding that the city violated state open-meeting laws by authorizing the litigation behind closed doors.
The three-judge panel unanimously ruled that public bodies in Arizona cannot vote to initiate lawsuits during executive sessions, which are closed to the public. The decision has significant implications for how government entities throughout the state must handle decisions about litigation.
“May public bodies vote behind closed doors to authorize litigation? The answer is no,” Presiding Judge Michael Catlett wrote in the 13-page opinion.
The case stemmed from a December 2020 Flagstaff City Council meeting where councilmembers went into executive session “for legal advice regarding water litigation” and voted to sue Desert Mountain Energy to prevent it from mining helium near the city’s water source.
