Court Allows New County Library Board to Proceed as March 4, April 1, and May 2 Dates Set for Follow-Up Arguments

The hearing called for Tuesday morning, January 28th, in the Samuels Public Library Board of Trustees Injunction filing against the Warren County Board of Supervisors and the County municipal government seeking a freeze in the County’s movement on creation of a new Warren County Library Board quickly became mired in arguments on legal technicalities in Warren County Circuit Courtroom A.

Those technicalities included whether the Injunction was legally filed, whether the County government has “Sovereign Immunity” from such filed litigation, whether Samuels has adequate “Regional Library” designation to not be overseen by a single municipality within its region, and whether there is an immediate financial or organizational threat to library funding and operations from the new board’s meeting or potential action schedule. The new board has been publicly cited by county supervisors as a financial oversight tool to oversee the distribution of County revenue to the contracted community public library. However, with the announcement of the board’s five appointees fears have increased of a veiled return to the 2023 effort to remove certain books from the library’s shelves.

Judge Daryl Funk heard arguments from plaintiff library attorney Jennifer French of the Steele Law Firm of Roanoke by remote hookup, and County defense attorney Heather Bardot of the Fairfax-based McGavin, Boyce, Bardot, Thorsen, & Katz (mbbtk) Law Firm, who was in court.

Samuels Public Library currently placed in a County-owned building and lot. Below, Library Director of Operations Eileen Grady, at desk, and Library Board of Trustees President Melody Hotek. Royal Examiner File Photos

About 15 to 20 library-supporting patrons were present in Circuit Courtroom A to hear the case arguments, along with Samuels Library Director of Operations Eileen Grady and Samuels Board of Trustees President Melody Hotek. Library officials declined comment on the day’s hearing. We saw no county officials at the hearing.

In arguing for the defense contention the Injunction was filed by the wrong plaintiff entity against an immune from litigation defendant, Bardot summarized a portion of the County’s defense stance, stating, “We have a plaintiff that can’t sue and a defendant that can’t be sued.”

Bardot argued that by state code the only Samuels Library entity that could have filed a legal action in the matter was Samuels Library Incorporated, rather than the Samuels Library Board of Trustees.

Judge Funk observed that he would not be ruling that day on the myriad technical points being argued by counsels. However, he did query Library counsel on one point that he could base a decision on the main point of the hearing called for just two business days following the Injunction’s filing Friday, January 24.

That point was whether planned meetings and possible actions by the new County Library Board presented an immediate threat to Samuel Public Library operations. The judge asked plaintiff attorney French if the County and Library hadn’t, in fact, reached a resolution of the budget-based arguments for the existing Fiscal Year 2024/25, with the library’s full FY-2024/25 funding being released to the library.

French replied that Samuels Library officials “believed” the intent of the County and its new board was to impact current spending and their Injunction was seeking “to maintain the status quo” of operational decision making by the Samuels Library Board of Trustees. Defense attorney Bardot countered that fearing that “something bad may happen in future” was not sufficient grounds for such an Injunction to be immediately imposed.

With the Court’s perspective that it was more likely that any pending financial actions by the new County Library Board would not kick in until the next Fiscal Year-2026, beginning on July 1, 2025, the motion for immediate implementation of the Injunction was denied.

It appeared from discussion during the hearing that if necessary on the incorrect filing argument, the Library would non-suit the current Injunction filing and refile as Samuels Library Incorporated. Then the technically correct plaintiff would proceed with its arguments against the creation process and County goals in giving the newly, and for library supporters and officials questionably, appointed County Library Board financial authority over County funding of its current Virginia Library of the Year.

The Warren County Courthouse, emerging scene of the Samuels Public Library vs. WC BOS showdown over control of public library funding, and many suspect, operations.

Moving forward, filing and counter-filing dates of March 4, April 1, and May 2, were set by the court after consultation with attorneys on their availability. The latter date of May 2, set at 3 p.m. was cited for final arguments on moving forward or dismissal of the plaintiff request for the Injunction seeking to prevent the creation of the new County Library Board without “proper process” and to: “enjoin the BOS and Warren County from breaching the (2013) Memorandum of Understanding, and order that SPL (Samuels Public Library) Trustees not be inhibited from acting in its normal manner.” As has been previously reported by Royal Examiner, that 2013 MOU was between Samuels Library, Warren County, and the Town of Front Royal on public library services.

The scheduled lone hearing on the 9 a.m., January 28th Circuit Court docket adjourned at 9:40 a.m.