Davenport City Commission moves into closed session to consider Case K 0050 after brief statements from both sides

The Davenport City Commission abruptly moved into a closed session at 12:10 p.m. on an agenda change to consider Case K 0050, citing the authority to discuss a decision to be rendered in a case conducted under Chapter 17A of the Iowa Code. Commissioner Ford made the motion to go into closed session and Commissioner Upchurch Taylor seconded; a roll-call vote was unanimous.

The shift to closed session came after the chair said the commission would allow the parties another brief opportunity to speak if both were present. Nicholas Hoffman, appearing on behalf of the respondents, asked the commission to rule on a pending motion to recuse the commission before entering any remedy and urged the body to adopt an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ruling finding that the respondents had no knowledge of racial animus by a third party. "There is a motion to recuse the commission pending that I would ask for a ruling on before any entry of any sort of remedy," Hoffman said. He also argued for a realistic remedy that accounts for the respondents' claimed limited interactions with the complainant and health-related reasons for exiting the landlord business.

Tyler Adams, counsel for the complainant, told the commission it had effectively rejected the respondents' recusal motion by rejecting the ALJ decision at an earlier meeting and said the purpose of the session was to determine damages. "We're here today to determine damages," Adams said, and he asked the commission to enter damages as requested in the complainant's briefing and supported by the record.

After the brief statements, the chair cited statutory authority for closing the meeting and called for a motion. The commission voted to enter closed session at 12:10; the clerk conducted a roll-call vote with each commissioner responding in the affirmative. The commission recessed into closed session to discuss the decision in Case K 0050.

No formal action on damages or recusal was recorded in the public transcript; the meeting record shows only that the commission entered closed session for deliberation under the cited authority. The commission did not announce a date for any public decision in the portions of the record provided.