Zoning board authorizes outside counsel to defend board in Fernandez litigation

The Montgomery Township Zoning Board of Adjustment voted Aug. 27 to authorize outside counsel to defend the township, the zoning officer and the board in pending litigation stemming from a case described in the meeting record as "Fernandez versus the township of Montgomery, Justin Lauman and his official capacity as zoning officer and the township of Montgomery zoning board of adjustment," with the docket cited in the record as "SOML 1104Attack26." The chair read the resolution authorizing Jonathan E. Drill, Esquire and his law firm (spoken in the meeting as "Stickle, Koenig, Sullivan and Drill," abbreviated "SKSD") to represent those parties.

The resolution text, read aloud during the meeting, stated "as follows the board authorized Jonathan e drill and SK SD to defend the board in litigation while also representing the township and the zoning officer," a passage read by the chair while presenting the motion. A motion to adopt the resolution was moved and seconded; the clerk conducted a roll call. The meeting record shows affirmative roll‑call responses from the listed members and the chair announced the resolution "carries." The motion was presented as moved by the board member addressed in the record as Mr. Walmart and seconded (acknowledged in the record) by Mr. Wood.

The action followed an earlier closed‑session discussion during which the chair said the board would receive attorney‑client privileged legal advice about the litigation. The board named counsel in open session after returning from that private discussion. The resolution does not appear to specify an individual fee amount or detailed fee arrangement in the meeting record; those details were not read into the public minutes.