Vallejo City Council meets in closed session on potential litigation, directs special counsel

The Vallejo City Council convened a special meeting at 5:45 p.m. and went into closed session to consider two items involving potential litigation, the city attorney said.

The city attorney told the council the closed session would cover two conferences with legal counsel under Government Code section 54956.9: item 3A, described as significant exposure to litigation involving four related cases and including a mayor’s demand for defense counsel and an identification litigation hold; and item 3B, described as a related conference under the same code section concerning one case, the attorney said.

The council opened a brief public-comment period for the closed-session items but staff reported that no members of the public had signed up to speak. Minutes notation and roll-call statements recorded Mayor Sors, Vice Mayor Matulik and Council members Bergensert, Gordon, Matias and Paul Maris as present; Council member Ledger Jew was absent.

After returning from closed session the council reported out that it had “provided direction to special counsel and no further action is needed at this time,” Council member Paul Maris said. The special meeting was closed at 8:41 p.m.

The closed-session items discussed involve potential litigation; the city did not disclose additional details about the claims, counsel’s recommendations or any schedule for future public proceedings during the report-out. No formal vote or ordinance was taken during the public portion of the meeting.