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New Berlin council denies Zoharic claim after closed-session legal discussion
Summary
After a closed-session briefing on litigation matters, the New Berlin Common Council returned to open session and voted unanimously on June 10 to deny the Zoharic claim; the closed session also addressed an unauthorized tree-clearing code-compliance matter at 6035 South Carrington Lane.
NEW BERLIN, Wis. — After convening in closed session to discuss legal strategy, the New Berlin Common Council on June 10 voted unanimously in open session to deny a claim by Zohoric.
The council first moved into closed session under state law to confer with legal counsel about pending or likely litigation. The City Clerk read the statutory basis for the closed session as Wisconsin statutes related to closed meetings for conferring with legal counsel; the agenda item cited two specific matters: a code-compliance dispute over alleged unauthorized clear cutting of trees at 6035 South Carrington Lane and a claim identified in the record as the Zohoric claim.
After the closed-session discussion the council returned to open session and a councilmember moved, “I’ll make a motion to deny the Zoharic claim.” The motion was seconded and passed by unanimous voice vote.
What the council did and did not do: The public record for the meeting shows the council convened under the closed-session statutory authority and then took a formal action in open session to deny the Zoharic claim. The council did not release additional details about the merits of the claim in open session and no settlement or payment was recorded in the meeting minutes.
Background detail recorded on the agenda: the closed-session notice referenced both the Zohoric claim and a separate code-compliance enforcement matter involving alleged unauthorized tree clearing at a property on South Carrington Lane; that legal-review conversation occurred in closed session and the transcript records no further open-session action on the tree-clearing item.
