NORFOLK — On Wednesday, Dec. 17, the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District was informed that an order had been released by Judge John M. Gerrard, Senior United States District Judge for the District of Nebraska regarding the motion for a preliminary injunction filed by plaintiff Melissa Temple, against the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District.
Liz Lienemann, communications specialist for the LENRD, released the following statement: “The District has no other comment on the matter at this particular time other than to state that we respect the opinion of the Court and that we will comply with the terms of the order.”
On Oct. 17, 2023, the LENRD received notice that it had been named in a complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. The complaint, filed on behalf of Subdistrict 3 Director Melissa Temple, listed the LENRD as the defendant and sought preliminary and permanent injunction, damages, and declaratory relief.
At that time, General Manager Brian Bruckner responded by stating, “Given the sensitive nature of this matter, along with the fact that there is active litigation being pursued on behalf of Director Temple against the district, we will simply acknowledge receipt of the court filing and that we are consulting with our legal counsel to assess our options to defend the district.”
In a press release issued later last week, the LENRD representative stated the following about press coverage of the court order: As indicated in an earlier press release, the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District received a copy of a Memorandum and Order issued on Dec. 27, 2023, by Judge John M. Gerrard, Senior United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska in the aforementioned case.
In the Order, the Court ruled that 1) The plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction is granted in part and 2) that the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resource District is preliminarily enjoined from enforcing the Aug. 10, 2023, sanction suspending Temple’s rights under Neb. Rev. Stat. §2-3218 which references compensation and expenses for members of the board.
This matter had been covered by various state and local media outlets, but the degree of accuracy on this coverage varies greatly. Some media outlets accurately report that the District is preliminarily enjoined from enforcing the sanction relative to reimbursement for out of district travel expenses, and that the sanction which removed Director Temple from all committee assignments may remain intact.
However, some news articles have suggested that ALL of Director Temple’s rights as an NRD Director are preliminarily enjoined. This statement is inaccurate. With regard to Director Temple’s subcommittee assignments, the Court found, “It does not offend the Constitution to limit Temple’s ability to sit on subcommittees. The LENRD may constitutionally execute this sanction.” As a result and as previously stated, the District will comply with the Order and restore only those rights and responsibilities required by the Order at this time, which does not include subcommittee assignments.
