Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen MacKay issued a letter Feb. 10 requesting more information in a lawsuit against the town and Fairfax County.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of five Herndon residents and two Fairfax County residents in September and then amended in October 2005 by Judicial Watch — a public interest group based in Washington, D.C. Attorneys on both sides argued before MacKay Dec. 16, 2005. MacKay's letter is not an official ruling, Mayor Michael O'Reily said.
Judicial Watch attorneys argued the Herndon Official Workers’ Center should be shut down because taxpayer funds are being used to run a center that violates local, state and federal laws. Filing a demurrer, the town and county argued the case should not be heard because the approval of a conditional use permit to run the center was a land-use decision. Attorneys for the town argued the site was operating legally under local, state and federal laws.
MacKay requested further information from the county regarding the $175,000 it allocated to the Herndon site.
"[T]his matter is primarily a question of budgetary process, it seems to me, and should be set down for a hearing on that issue ..." her letter stated.
"The town is going to argue that the case should be dismissed because it does not describe a legal cause of action," said Richard Kaufman, town attorney. Expanded briefs by the town and county are due Feb. 27. Judicial Watch has until March 13 to file a response brief. An additional hearing has yet to be set.