C-Tran settles, will forgo fees awarded by judge

C-Tran has agreed to settle with 14 plaintiffs who unsuccessfully claimed the transit agency violated the Open Public Meetings Act when it rearranged its board of directors nearly three years ago.

The legal settlement means the agency will forgo $15,000 in attorneys fees awarded to it by a Clark County Superior Court judge, who ruled in C-Tran’s favor.

In a statement to The Columbian, C-Tran said the plaintiffs offered to settle after the case was heard late last month by the Court of Appeals.

“In response, at its Feb. 14 meeting, the C-Tran Board of Directors approved a proposed settlement that requires the plaintiffs to drop their current lawsuit and appeal,” the statement read. “In exchange, C-Tran will forgo its right to collect on sanctions. C-Tran will not sign the settlement until all plaintiffs have first signed the agreement.”

The plaintiffs in the case are John Ley, John Hallinen, Gerald Halle, Michael and Carole Kelley, Michael Conner, Lisa Ross, Deborah Ward, Pat Anderson, Brian Rohan, Robert Nichols, John Burke, Robert Larimer and Mark Heagy. The defendants are C-Tran, a mix of C-Tran’s current and former members of its board of directors, and C-Tran CEO Jeff Hamm.

The plaintiffs argued the C-Tran composition review committee violated open public meetings laws in the fall of 2014 when it voted to change the organization of C-Tran board without first giving proper notice.

The suit was filed April 22, 2015, in Clark County Superior Court.

The case was dismissed that September. Judge David Gregerson ruled that the Open Public Meetings Act didn’t apply to the committee because it isn’t a public agency as defined under the act.

Last year, the court ordered the plaintiffs to pay the transit agency $15,000 for attorney fees. C-Tran initially requested the plaintiffs pay about $32,250 to cover attorneys’ fees.

Ley, the lead plaintiff, didn’t respond to requests for comment about the settlement.