Justices order Lincoln to pay $9,150 to Nebraska AG’s Office after charter fight

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court on Wednesday said Lincoln must pay the Attorney General’s Office $9,150 in costs after a court fight about three petitioned charter amendments.

The high court on Sept. 9, in a 5-2 opinion, agreed with Attorney General Mike Hilgers that city officials needed to place three citizen-led city charter amendments from the Good Government Lincoln campaign on the Nov. 3 ballot. City officials argued that the measures qualified for voter review but that they would instead appear on city ballots in May.

Hilgers’ office on Sept. 18 asked justices to require Lincoln to reimburse $19,107. This included the $132 cost to file the original lawsuit and the rest in attorneys’ fees. Three office attorneys estimated they worked on the case for about 61 hours, with pay rates from $300 to $375 per hour.

Lincoln City Attorney Yohance Christie objected to the request. Christie said city officials acted “in good faith based on a colorable theory.”

“To award attorney fees would discourage similarly situated public bodies acting in good faith based on a reasonable interpretation of the law on a case of first impression to seek review of their own constitutionally granted rights,” Christie wrote.

Wednesday’s court order states that two judges dissented, but the order does not say who. 

In early September, Justice Stephanie Stacy of Lincoln and Court of Appeals Judge Michael W. Pirtle of Omaha dissented. Pirtle rounded out the seven-member court at the time, as Chief Justice Jeffrey Funke of Nebraska City did not participate in the case.

In a Thursday post on X, Hilgers said Lincoln’s leaders “had every opportunity to follow the clear mandate within the Constitution to put the amendments on the ballot. Yet they refused to do so.”

“Whether it was for political reasons or not, our lawsuit should have never been needed,” Hilgers wrote. “My hope is that this award of fees will help deter them — and others — who may in the future consider ignoring the Constitution.”

A Lincoln spokesperson had no immediate comment on the court’s order Thursday morning.

The general election is Nov. 3.