City appeals to Nevada Supreme Court in lawsuit involving Fiore, Seaman

Las Vegas will petition the Nevada Supreme Court to dismiss the city from a lawsuit stemming from a reported fight at City Hall between two councilwomen last year, which alleges assault and destruction of evidence.

The City Council on Wednesday voted 6-0 to seek an “appeal or other petition for relief” in a case filed by Councilwoman Victoria Seaman in September. The lawsuit named the city and her then-fellow Councilwoman Michele Fiore, who is now a justice of the peace in Nye County.

On Wednesday, Seaman abstained from voting on the item, which was not discussed because it was on the consent agenda.

“In which you have a financial interest, yes?” Mayor Carolyn Goodman quipped.

Seaman quickly responded: “In which I’m a party involved.”

The City Council vote came after the District Court twice denied motions to remove Las Vegas as a party to the litigation.

The lawsuit is in its early stages, and the city intends to argue “discretionary immunity” in its Supreme Court filing to help “absolve” it from “expensive litigation,” said attorney Peter Angulo, who’s representing the city in the lawsuit. Angulo said the petition will be filed in the coming weeks.

The city has a practice of not commenting on pending litigation. Fiore’s attorney, Sigal Chattah, also declined comment.

Battery claim

Seaman’s lawsuit accused Fiore of assault and battery, and blamed the city for not holding Fiore accountable and destroying a video of the January 2021 confrontation, a video that had been sought by the Review-Journal in a public records act request.

Shortly after Seaman sued Fiore and the city, the newspaper obtained a 61-page investigative report by an independent law firm that determined both lawmakers were at fault and that the surveillance images posed a “substantial risk of damage to the political images and reputations” of both councilwomen and “the part each played in the physical altercation.”

“The attempt to dismiss the lawsuit is a continued example of politicians wanting to limit transparency in local government,” Seaman wrote in a text message to the Review-Journal Wednesday. “First, they destroyed the video of my assault by former councilwoman Michele Fiore leading me to file suit as a last resort. And now, these same politicians are moving to dismiss my lawsuit, which would hold them accountable.”

The joint conference report District Judge Maria Gall reviewed Monday provided a list of witnesses that attorneys for the city and Fiore “expected to testify,” including now-former Review-Journal reporter Shea Johnson.

The city repeatedly rebuffed Johnson’s request for the video.

Former friendship soured

The Republican women were close friends and political allies until a falling out in 2020 when Seaman decried Fiore’s racially insensitive comments on affirmative action.

Fiore gave up her position as mayor pro tem after the comments came to light.

The feud intensified on Jan. 11, 2021, when the councilwomen exchanged heated words after an Audit Oversight Committee meeting.

“Councilwoman Fiore grabbed Councilwoman Seaman by the hand pulling, jerking, twisting and breaking Councilwoman Seaman’s finger in a violent manner,” the lawsuit alleged.

In the month following the alleged confrontation, sources told slain Review-Journal reporter Jeff German that the fight had taken place in City Hall’s seventh floor. But months later, after the footage was deleted, it was determined it had taken place elsewhere in the building.

German was fatally stabbed outside his home in September. Las Vegas police and prosecutors allege he was killed by former Clark County administrator Robert Telles, who is awaiting trial.

Both sides at fault

The report the city commissioned countered that both lawmakers “engaged in conduct in violation of the Code of Conduct” the day of the altercation, wrote Deverie Christensen, an investigator with the law firm of Jackson Lewis P.C. “Regardless of ‘who started it,’ the screaming argument and physical altercation was disrespectful, abusive conduct and wholly inappropriate.”

The report said that Seaman had waived her finger in Fiore’s face. When Fiore brushed it away, Seaman kicked Fiore in the shin before she was thrown to the ground, the report said.

At the time, Seaman called the report “100 percent garbage,” noting that the city couldn’t be trusted to investigate itself.

The lawsuit alleges that Goodman suggested Seaman should consider resigning or step down from the audit committee if she couldn’t handle the stress.

Seaman is running to replace Goodman, whose third and final term will end next year.

“As the next mayor, I will bring transparency to City Hall and ensure that all residents in Las Vegas feel safe in their place of work,” she said in her text message to the newspaper.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow @rickytwrites on Twitter.