Conner vs. City of South Lake Tahoe could cost $100,000

Round two of Councilwoman JoAnn Conner versus the City of South Lake Tahoe and City Manager Nancy Kerry was originally on the court docket for Monday, but it didn't happen and the next court date has yet to be set.

Conner sued the two parties after being censured by the City Council on October 16, 2015, when her fellow Council members decided she had been disrespectful and discourteous, didn't keep with the heightened norms and standards of conduct required of one in her position, and had been abusive to employees, among other accusations.

On December 9, 2015, Conner filed a lawsuit against the City of South Lake Tahoe and City Manager Nancy Kerry in El Dorado County Court, asking for the City Council's censure of her be withdrawn.

On December 14, Conner's attorney, former City Attorney Jacqueline Mittelstadt, filed an emergency stay, stating Conner couldn't preform her duties as a council members. Judge Steve Bailey heard the case the following day, ruling that he didn't see where that was the case. He said she still receives mail, email, can talk to staff and stay apprised of issues.

Conner and Mittelstadt then asked that Judge Bailey be removed from the case because they believe Bailey has already made up his mind on the case after he said it appeared to be more of a political matter than a legal one.

Because of this request, the hearing scheduled for January 4 was postponed until a panel can hear their claim and see if the judge should be removed from the case.

Both Mittelstadt and Conner were at the courthouse Monday, unsure if the case was being heard or not.

On December 21, there was a closed session meeting with attorneys, Kerry and the City Council, minus Conner, to discuss the lawsuit. They voted 4-0 to allocate up to $100,000 out of the General Fund to fight the lawsuit and $10,000 to be spent on an attorney for Nancy Kerry.

Best, Best & Kreiger has been hired to defend Kerry.

Mittelstadt is allowing Conner to go on a payment plan for her legal fees, something she's done for other clients in the past. "I understand that litigation is very expensive and I work very hard to make it affordable to the average person as possible," she said. "Allowing payment plans is one method commonly utilized to do that."

Many South Lake Tahoe residents have questioned both the censure and lawsuit, asking that differences be settled out of court. Since the censure is in sense a "slap on the hand" and doesn't prevent Conner from doing her duties, many observers have asked that Conner just move on without the legal action.

"It is now taking me two or three days longer to get work done for the citizens," Conner told South Tahoe Now. She has to go through Kerry to have access to City staff.

When asked what Conner expects to come out of the lawsuit, Mittelstadt said they want "Resolution in a manner that JoAnn's ability to speak with City staff is restored."

"There are a lot of lesser intrusive ways to 'protect City staff' from alleged bad behavior than blocking all communication," said Mittelstadt. "We want reinstatement of JoAnn's ID badge so she can get her mail, a censure hearing that complies with the law and with the City's own protocols under a censure protocol that is constitutional and does not unlawfully infringe on free speech, and public records that were requested and improperly denied."