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Dearborn Heights council holds closed session on pending lawsuit, later rejects proposal discussed there
Summary
At a July 8 special meeting, the Dearborn Heights City Council moved into a closed session to discuss pending litigation and later voted to reject a proposal that had been considered during that closed session.
The Dearborn Heights City Council moved into a closed session on July 8 to discuss pending litigation and later voted to reject a proposal the council had discussed behind closed doors.
Councilman Hassan Ahmad moved at 5:43 p.m. that the council go into closed session to discuss the pending litigation identified in the meeting as “Swope, et al. v. [Dearborn] Heights,” specifically naming individuals who might attend that closed session. The motion, seconded by another council member, passed on a roll-call vote, 6–1.
The closed-session motion specified that the city council chief of staff Hernandez, corporation counsel (at Ms. Hunt’s request), special legal counsel Gary Miyake and an attorney identified in the record as Veronica could be included in portions of the closed session. After returning to open session at 6:29 p.m., Ahmad moved that the council reject the proposal discussed in closed session. The motion to reject was seconded and carried.
An unnamed member of the public who identified himself as special legal counsel urged that a former corporation counsel, Mr. Farina, not participate in any portion of the closed-session discussion because, the commenter said, “he is no longer corporation counsel and should not be involved in this matter” and that Farina had a personal conflict tied to actions related to a preliminary injunction. The commenter asked that Farina be excluded from portions of the closed session; the commenter also said the city’s insurer-assigned counsel (MMRMA) might require Farina’s attendance in some part of the process.
Council procedure in the meeting followed with a formal roll call prior to entering executive session. The motion to enter closed session passed 6–1; Councilman Hassan Saab recorded the lone dissent on that vote in the roll call recorded during the meeting. The council later approved a motion to return to open session and then voted to reject the proposal discussed during the closed session. Meeting minutes and the official record did not provide further public details about the substance of the litigation or the text of the proposal the council rejected.
The special meeting adjourned to a brief recess and the council said it would begin its regular meeting after a short break.
