Former NLV city manager to pay $290K to settle suit against former mayor, official

Former North Las Vegas City Manager Qiong Liu has agreed to pay nearly $300,000 to settle a yearslong lawsuit that alleged a conspiracy to remove her before the City Council fired her in 2018.

Councilmembers on Wednesday approved the $290,000 agreement to the lawsuit, which named former Mayor John Lee and Ryann Juden, the now-former city manager who replaced Liu after she was let go.

An attorney for Liu said the discussion was confusing because the city wasn’t a party to the 2020 suit.

“We are perplexed by the City Council agenda item,” attorney Andrea Champion wrote to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Champion said the agreement had already been green-lit by the former officials’ attorneys and didn’t require input from the city.

The city argued otherwise.

“Because of the nature of the allegations against Lee and Juden, the City paid the attorneys’ fees incurred in this matter,” according to a meeting agenda item.

2018 firing

Liu was dismissed after the city alleged that she gave herself a retroactive raise after forging documents.

She denied the accusation, countering that she was given a raise in 2016, which she thought applied retroactively to 2015, according to court filings.

The lawsuit alleged that Lee and Juden conspired to oust her so that Juden, then assistant city manager, could replace her.

“Most of the time, (Juden), met with, worked with, for, and did the bidding of (Lee),” the complaint said.

Liu’s lawyers have filed three District Court lawsuits related to the firing.

Champion said that Liu was confident that she would succeed on appeal, but that “the parties have nevertheless resolved this case so that Dr. Liu can focus on the claims that really matter — her wrongful termination from the City of North Las Vegas.”

Added the attorney: “Those claims remain pending in arbitration and Dr. Liu looks forward to proving that claim against the City.”

Yearslong dispute

A District Court judge initially denied a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, according to the city.

The Nevada Supreme Court reversed the ruling in 2024, sending the lawsuit back to the lower court.

“Following a hearing and supplemental briefing, the district court issued an order granting the special motion to dismiss” the suit earlier this year, the city said.

In a counterclaim, Lee and Juden requested attorney fees, which were approved by a judge this year, the city said.

“Importantly, while Dr. Liu vehemently disagrees with the District Court’s complete reversal of her prior decision on Lee and Juden’s anti-SLAPP motion, (and) maintains that her claims against Lee and Juden do not, in any way, impact first amendment rights,” Champion said.

The court awarded Lee and Juden $299,800 in fees and damages, the city said. That ruling led to settlement discussions in which Liu offered to settle for $290,000.

City Attorney Andy Moore noted Wednesday that “it’s about 97 percent of what the city is owed.”

“Thank you for the work from the city attorney’s office and all of those that are involved in this,” Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown told Moore. “So glad there’s closure on that.”

Legal matters pending

In a second 2020 lawsuit, a court ordered North Las Vegas to pay Liu more than $44,000.

The complaint alleged that the city breached Liu’s employment contract by not providing her legal representation after it referred her for an ethics investigation, according to court documents.

“Dr. Liu was forced to retain the services of legal counsel to prosecute this claim, and therefore, is entitled to attorneys’ fees and costs in accordance with the terms of the Employment Agreement and/or as may be permitted by law,” the complaint said.

Records show an arbitrator agreed.

In 2022, Liu agreed to pay $10,000 to resolve a Nevada Commission of Ethics probe into the alleged actions that led to her firing.

She disagreed with the findings, but agreed to enter into a stipulated agreement to “resolve” the ethics violations, according to a copy of the proposed settlement. “In doing so, Dr. Liu makes no admissions of liability or fault.”

The third lawsuit filed by Liu names North Las Vegas and alleges wrongful termination. It’s currently in arbitration, according to the city and court records.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.