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Beverly Hills council deadlocks on attorney recommendation after closed session
Summary
After a nearly two-and-a-quarter-hour closed session to consult special counsel on pending litigation, the Village of Beverly Hills council failed 3-3 to approve an attorney recommendation brought back into open session.
Council President John George called a special meeting of the Village of Beverly Hills council on March 31, 2025, that moved into a closed session to consult with Special Counsel Mark Roberts about pending litigation, Damon Hrydziuszko v. Village of Beverly Hills (Oakland County Circuit Court Case No. 2024-210258-AA).
The council voted unanimously, 6-0, to go into closed session at 7:34 p.m., invoking the Michigan Open Meetings Act, MCL 15.268(e) and (h), to discuss attorney-client privileged material and the court opinion and order. The council returned to public session at 9:48 p.m.
Following the closed session, Member Sam Abboud moved — and Member Jim Mercer seconded — a resolution "that the Village of Beverly Hills Council approves the motion as recommended by our attorney Mark Roberts." A roll-call vote recorded Abboud and Drummond as voting yes and George, Kecskemeti and O'Gorman as voting no; Mercer voted yes. The motion failed on a 3-3 tie.
No further public explanation of the substance of the recommendation was recorded in the minutes; the motion text in the minutes refers to the attorney's recommendation and the attorney-client memorandum discussed in closed session. The minutes do not record additional votes or a substitute motion after the tie.
The council adjourned at 9:56 p.m. The minutes do not indicate next steps or any schedule for returning to the matter in open session.
