ATHENS, Ohio — The Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals has decided that Nelsonville City Council may remain as is, rejecting claims by the former council president that she was illegally replaced in March.
In a decision filed on Tuesday, the appeals court ruled that council President Gregg Clement and council members Tony Dunfee and Opha Lawson can legally retain their seats.
Former council President Rita Nguyen resigned on Feb. 17, but rescinded the resignation the next day. Clement was voted the new council president at a March 13 special meeting.
Nguyen and Sue Powell — whom Nguyen had appointed to the council — filed a complaint of quo warranto with the appeals court on April 26. Public officials in Ohio may file a writ of quo warranto if they believe they were wrongfully removed from office.
On May 13, the city moved to dismiss the complaint on the basis of laches — the unreasonable delay in asserting one’s legal right. The court’s ruling granted the motion — in essence deciding that Nguyen and Powell did not act on their claims quickly enough.
Citing an email thread Nguyen had included in the complaint, the court noted that “Nguyen was aware as early as Feb. 25, 2024 that city council members rejected her position, yet she did not bring this action until April 26, 2024 — a delay of 61 days or nearly nine weeks.”
“Similarly, Powell claimed she was appointed to city council on March 14, 2024, but delayed 43 days or over six weeks in bringing her action,” the court continued. “Neither relator provides an excuse for the delay.”
The judgment notes that “the Court has repeatedly dismissed these types of actions as barred by laches for delays — some as brief as nine days.”
Nguyen and Powell will appeal the ruling to the state supreme court, their attorney said.
“I’m literally going to have an appeal to the supreme court followed by the end of the day today,” Nguyen and Powell’s attorney Josh Brown told the Independent Tuesday.
Brown said he believes the court was wrong to dismiss the case.
“I don’t know where they got their facts from, to be honest with you,” Brown said. “They’re wrong about the facts themselves, they’re wrong about what actually happened. And it didn’t hold any evidentiary hearings or anything. So I feel confident we have a strong appeal.”
Clement declined to comment on the decision. Thomas Spyker, the attorney from the city’s insurance carrier who represents Nelsonville in the case, did not respond to request for comment by publication time.
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