Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Claims against Auditor's Office deemed not factual
DAVENPORT—A Spokane County judge quickly dismissed an elections lawsuit filed against the Lincoln County Auditor’s office and auditor Chandra Schumacher by the Washington Election Integrity Coalition United (WEICU) and Jerry Schulz of Reardan in October.
Presiding judge Michael Price granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss Monday, March 28.
The lawsuit accused the Auditor’s Office of election violations during the 2020 general election as WEICU filed similar lawsuits around the state that same week.
The court found that WEICU and Schulz’s claims were “untimely and barred by statute and the equitable doctrine of laches,” according to court records.
Price ruled that the plaintiffs “lacked standing” to bring such claims forward and failed to stake any claim where relief could be granted, records state.
“The court finds that plaintiffs’ claims are frivolous and advanced without reasonable cause,” Price’s ruling reads. “(They) are not well grounded in fact or warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification or reversal of existing law or the establishment of new law.”
The ruling came quickly after a motion to dismiss the lawsuit was filed Friday, March 25. The defendants must file and serve an affidavit with all attorney fees and costs within 10 days of Price’s ruling.
Drew Lawson is the former managing editor of the Davenport Times and a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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