Gibbons ordered to appear in court in text-messaging case
RENO -- Gov. Jim Gibbons was ordered Wednesday to appear in federal court for a settlement conference with a former staffer who claims she was fired because the governor thought she had leaked details about his private text messages on a state phone.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Cook also ordered Gibbons' budget chief, Andrew Clinger, to appear at the settlement conference next month.
Mary Keating lost her job as state administrative services officer in mid-May. She is suing Gibbons and Clinger for unspecified damages and reinstatement to the post in which she oversaw, among other things, the governor's office expenditures.
Keating wound up with another state job with similar pay. She's being represented in the lawsuit by Cal Dunlap, a former Washoe County district attorney who also represents Nevada first lady Dawn Gibbons in a pending divorce from the first-term Republican governor.
The lawsuit alleges one of Keating's employees told her in May 2007 that Gibbons used his state cell phone to send more than 860 personal text messages over several weeks to a woman the governor has described as a longtime friend. Keating in turn told her boss, Clinger.
When word of the text messages got out in June, Gibbons apologized for the activity and said he had reimbursed the state $130. He also denied the messages were "love notes."
Stephen Quinn, a senior deputy attorney general representing Gibbons and Clinger, told the judge Wednesday that the two were busy preparing for the upcoming legislative session and the state's budget crisis. He said their legal counsel would have the full authority to negotiate any possible settlement, so their presence in court was not necessary.
Dunlap said it was important they be present to fully understand their potential liability in the case and pointed out they had already presented the governor's proposed budget to the state Legislature.
"As we know, (Gibbons) has a great deal of skill texting messages, which he can do from here to deal with other government issues," Dunlap said in the courtroom Wednesday.
Cook earlier set the settlement conference for Feb. 9 but instructed the two sides to pick a date if that one doesn't work for the governor.
"I'm aware the budget is a very big challenge this year. But it seems under the circumstances, the presence of Governor Gibbons and Mr. Clinger is appropriate for this settlement conference," Cook said.
The judge and both lawyers agreed that under state law, attorneys representing Gibbons and Clinger would be authorized to agree to a settlement worth a maximum of $75,000. Anything greater would have to be approved by the state Board of Examiners.
"I'm sure these folks would love to settle for $75,000," Dunlap said. "That's not going to happen."
Cook said one of the reasons Gibbons and Clinger need to be present is that under the rules of a settlement conference, no one is allowed to have outside communication with parties in the case who are not present in the courtroom.
Dunlap said Keating had worked in state government for decades under a variety of administrations with a "spotless record."
"The problem with Mary Keating is she did her job," he said.
In a number of instances, she brought to Clinger's attention spending activity by state employees contrary to state rules, Dunlap said. Clinger then told Gibbons, Dunlap said.
"It is our position he was not too happy with that," he said.
MOST OF GOVERNOR'S E-MAILS WITHHELD
CARSON CITY -- A judge on Wednesday denied the bulk of a Reno Gazette-Journal lawsuit seeking access to Gov. Jim Gibbons' e-mail records, ruling that most of the correspondence is confidential under Nevada law.
Carson City District Judge Todd Russell also denied the newspaper's request for an itemized list of the e-mail records so it could independently assess whether the correspondence fell under the state's public records law.
Russell told Gibbons to release six of 104 e-mails that were reviewed in private by a court master to determine whether they were public. The court master, Dave Nielsen, said the rest were personal, of a nonpublic "transitory nature" or privileged.
The judge gave Gibbons 10 days to appeal the order releasing the six e-mails.
The Gazette-Journal filed suit against the Gibbons administration in October after his general counsel denied the newspaper's public records request for access to six months of e-mail correspondence between Gibbons and 10 individuals.
The newspaper's lawsuit claimed the Gibbons administration "in essence told the RGJ 'take our word for it' " that the e-mails were privileged. The lawsuit sought an order to compel the release of the e-mails or a summary of them.
State attorneys countered the newspaper's lawsuit should be rejected because the e-mails weren't public records or didn't exist.
The state lawyers also contended there weren't any e-mails in a January-June 2008 time frame between Gibbons and five of the 10 people listed in the lawsuit.
The five included Warren Trepp, once accused of providing Gibbons with a cruise and money for help while Gibbons was in Congress. The FBI investigated the claim and cleared Gibbons.
State lawyers contended that e-mails between Gibbons and the other five, including first lady Dawn Gibbons and three current or former top staffers, weren't public records or were privileged.
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