Nashville council holds closed session to consult legal counsel on anticipated litigation from January flood

The Nashville City Council moved into a closed session Wednesday to confer with its legal counsel about anticipated litigation arising from the January flood, a staff member said.

"This is subject to Government Code section 54956.9(d)," the staff member said, adding: "There's about 115 potential cases." The staff member said claim documents would be available for public inspection on the City Clerk's public records page for the Aug. 20, 2024 special city council meeting.

Council members had earlier completed roll call and recited the Pledge of Allegiance before the chair announced the closed-session item and asked the council to convene. The council later reconvened, and the chair said the body was "out of closed session" and would report out at the end of the meeting before adjourning.

No formal vote or motion text was read into the public record during the session excerpted in the transcript. The closed session was described as a conference with legal counsel regarding "anticipated litigation," which under the cited Government Code section permits private council consultation where discussing pending or anticipated litigation would jeopardize the public interest.

Documents related to the claims, the staff member said, will be posted to the City Clerk's public records for the special meeting, allowing members of the public to review the materials once posted. The council did not provide additional details about specific claimants or legal strategy in the public portions of the transcript.