Sherri Hanna is asking a Yavapai Superior Court judge to freeze two related lawsuits against the City of Prescott while an appeals court reviews her claim that council members broke state conflict-of-interest law by voting to fund their own defense in her original suit.
Hanna, an unsuccessful finalist for a vacant Prescott City Council seat last May, first sued the city on October 15th alleging the council’s appointment of Patrick Grady violated open meeting laws and the city charter. That suit named the mayor, city council members, and the city attorney as defendants.
Days later, on October 20th, those same defendants voted to retain the law firm Pierce Coleman to defend them—sparking Hanna’s second suit filed October 22nd. There, she added Pierce Coleman as a defendant and sought to block the funding, calling the vote illegal.
A Yavapai County judge denied Hanna’s emergency restraining order request on November 3rd. She appealed to the Arizona Court of Appeals and, on November 10th, asked the trial court for a short “administrative stay” in both cases to prevent further conflicted legal work while the appeal plays out.
The city fired back November 24th, calling Hanna’s claims “baseless” and a waste of taxpayer money. According to the defendants’ motion, the Court of Appeals has assigned the case to Department E but denied Hanna’s request to fast-track it. Lawyers for Mayor Phil Goode and the council insist the vote was protected legislative activity and that city law requires defending sued officials.
No ruling yet on the stay request.