SALYERSVILLE – The civil case between a former Salyersville City Council member and the city is one step closer to trial following last week’s pretrial hearing.
On June 2 in Magoffin County Circuit Court, Alexander Hyman, the attorney for Salyersville Mayor James “Pete” Shepherd and the Salyersville City Council members, Jarrod Howard, Paul Montgomery, Pat Frazier and Darrell Arnett, filed the defendants’ witness and exhibit list, while reserving the right to supplement the list as additional information becomes available.
Among those listed on the witness list was Colin Ray Jackson, the plaintiff in the case, who filed the complaint after he was voted off the city council last year following the use of a racial slur in an open public meeting last October. Jackson’s attorney, John C. Collins, filed the complaint in November, asking the court to rule a declaratory judgment that Jackson was not guilty of “misconduct…in the performance of the duties of his office,” noting the law is ambiguous in defining misconduct, that his statements made in the meeting that led to the vote of removal did not constitute misconduct, and that he should be reinstated to that office immediately.
The complaint named Salyersville Mayor James “Pete” Shepherd and city council member Jarrod Howard, Paul Montgomery, Pat Frazier and Darrell Arnett as defendants.
As some background, in the October 18, 2021, regular city council meeting, Jackson used a racial slur in open meeting referring to a leadership role within a group of slaves, and a public hearing was held on November 10, in which the charge was read, Jackson was able to rebut the claims and the council went into closed session. After closed session, now former council member Tex Holbrook resigned and the rest of the council held a vote, unanimously voting to remove Jackson from office. The vote had to be unanimous to remove a council member from office, per state laws, and any abstaining votes would have been counted as a vote with the majority.
Hyman has previously filed 17 affirmative defenses to the complaint, among which he argued the complaint failed to state a claim or claims against the defendants in which relief can be granted. He wrote that the defendants state they fully complied with all applicable laws and regulations, and there was no evidence they hadn’t followed the legal process to Jackson from office. Hyman said Jackson failed to mitigate his damages, if any, and he assumed all risks of his own actions, failing to join necessary and indispensable parties. According to his answer, Hyman states the defendants have qualified and/or absolute immunity, including statutory immunity and/or privilege in the case. He also argued that Jackson’s complaint may be barred by the applicable statute of limitations.
In the defendants’ preliminary witness list, the mayor, individual city council members (including Tex Holbrook, who resigned prior to the vote) and the city attorney were all included as potential witnesses. Videos of the meetings in question, including the October meeting when the racial slur was used and the November meeting in which he was removed from office, notices of charges and hearing to Jackson, the official hearing record, minutes and recordings of the meetings, the letter of apology from Jackson and the statutes that specify the council member removal process were all included in the exhibit list for the defendants.
As it stands now, a bench trial is slated for August 15 at 9 a.m. in Magoffin County Circuit Court. A pretrial conference is scheduled for August 4 at 9 a.m. All parties are supposed to exchange witness and exhibit lists 90 days prior to trial and pretrial discovery must be completed 60 days prior to the August 15 trial. Pretrial memorandums are due at least seven days prior to the August 4 pretrial conference. All evidentiary depositions must be completed 30 days prior to the trial, as well, according to the order setting the trial.
The Independent will report updates in the case as information is made available.
