A lawsuit involving the Christian County Library and four members of its Board of Trustees is still moving forward. At a hearing today the Christian County Circuit Court denied a motion by the defendants to dismiss part of the case.
The suit names the Christian County Library District and Trustee Janis Hagen as plaintiffs and Trustees Echo Schneider, John Garrity and Diana Brazeale as defendants.
It stems from an election at the Board’s August 27, 2024, meeting, during which Trustee Garrity modified a scheduled agenda item and proposed a slate of new officers for the board, removing then board president Allyson Tuckness from her position. Tuckness has since resigned from the board entirely.
The suit asks the court to rule on the validity of the board election and on an accusation that Trustees Schneider, Garrity and Brazeale violated the Missouri Sunshine Law by coordinating their vote ahead of time. The defense motioned to dismiss the question of the validity of the election. That motion was denied. The defense had previously motioned to dismiss the question of any Sunshine Law violation as well but withdrew their dismissal Wednesday.
The defense had also objected to a previous motion from the Plaintiffs requesting the defendants “admit or deny” that they understood the Board’s decision-making activities fall under the Sunshine Law. The court overruled the objection, giving the defendants 20 days to respond.