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Cartwright board directs counsel to seek dismissal in Moreno v. Hernandez election lawsuit
Summary
At a special April meeting, the Cartwright Elementary District governing board met in executive session and then voted to instruct district counsel to file a motion to dismiss Moreno v. Hernandez et al., citing the plaintiffs’ alleged failure to comply with Arizona law on contested elections. The motion passed with four ayes and one abstention.
At a special meeting Monday evening in April, the Cartwright Elementary District Governing Board voted to instruct the district’s attorneys to file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit Moreno v. Hernandez et al., CV 20 25 0 0 27 19, saying the plaintiffs failed to comply with Arizona law governing contested elections.
The board moved into executive session before taking action under Arizona law permitting attorney consultation. “I move that we provide direction ... to file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Moreno versus Hernandez et al., CV 20 25 0 0 27 19, for plaintiff's failure to comply with Arizona law regarding contested elections,” the presiding Board President said during the public record of the meeting. The board then returned to open session and voted on the instruction.
The instruction drew one recorded abstention. Board member Jennifer Romero said, “I will be abstaining.” In the final roll call, Rosa Cantu and Cassandra Hernandez recorded votes of "aye," Denise Garcia's vote was recorded as "aye," and the presiding Board President also voted "aye." The motion to direct counsel to seek dismissal carried.
The board had moved into the closed attorney consultation under the Arizona Revised Statutes that govern executive sessions for legal advice; the motion referenced those statutes before the executive session. After resuming the public meeting, the board approved the direction to attorneys and then moved on to announce future meeting dates.
The meeting record shows the board began the session at about 6:05 p.m. and returned from executive session at about 7:07 p.m.; the meeting adjourned at about 7:10 p.m. The board announced its next regular meeting for Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at 6 p.m. in the Cartwright School District Governing Boardroom.
Background: The board’s action instructs district counsel to seek dismissal in the pending case identified in the meeting as Moreno v. Hernandez et al., CV 20 25 0 0 27 19. The board cited the plaintiffs’ alleged failure to follow state law on contested elections as the basis for asking counsel to file the dismissal motion. The transcript does not record further detail about the plaintiffs’ alleged procedural failures or the specific legal arguments counsel will use in the anticipated motion.
