Hofman Ranch v. Yuba County Local Agency Formation Commission

The Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act) (Gov. Code, § 54950.5 et seq.) requires “[a]ll meetings of the legislative body of a local agency [to] be open and public ... except as otherwise provided in this chapter.” (§ 54953, subd. (a).) The chapter provides for closed sessions “to consider the . . . evaluation of performance ... of a public employee.” (§ 54957, subd. (b)(1).) In this context, “employee” includes “an officer or an independent contractor who functions as an officer or an employee but [does] not include any elected official, member of a legislative body or other independent contractors.” (Id., subd. (b)(4).)

In this case, the Yuba County Local Agency Formation Commission (Yuba LAFCO) and its five commissioners (collectively defendants) held a closed session to evaluate the performance of John Benoit, with whom Yuba LAFCO contracted to provide “executive officer services.” Frances Hofman, a member of the public, who is one of the plaintiffs here, unsuccessfully objected to the closed session. After the closed session, the commissioners publically voted to extend Benoit’s contract by one year.

In response, Frances Hofman, her partner in a family trust, Emma Hofman,…