The lawsuit was filed Jan. 9 in Ingham County’s 30th Circuit Court by Phil Bellfy, an MSU associate professor of writing, rhetoric and American cultures, and his lawyer, East Lansing attorney Jeffrey Hank.

Tom Yeadon, East Lansing’s assistant city attorney, said the city will file its motion with the court to dismiss the lawsuit by Wednesday.

Bellfy said in a letter sent Oct. 25, 2011 he had requested that council members hold a closed-door executive session to discuss what he claims were repeated episodes of misconduct by the city attorney’s office, including tax fraud and conflicts of interest with building developers.

Bellfy’s lawsuit said between the time he made his request and the council’s next public meeting on Nov. 1, 2011, the council met “in secret” and decided not to hold a closed-door session to investigate the city attorney’s office.

“We’re pretty confident they have definitely violated the Open Meetings Act,” Bellfy said. “I tried to resolve these issues, give them (an) out. They decided as a council not to respond to me.”

Bellfy said in the near future, he plans to file a petition for removal of the city council from power in light of what he claims was a violation of the law.

“This is the real world. We’ve got real, serious problems in this city,” Bellfy said.

Yeadon said Bellfy’s lawsuit is “a frivolous complaint” because the meeting Bellfy outlines never actually happened.

“Their complaint is based on pure speculation and conjecture,” he said. “We believe that the complaint is more for harassment purposes.”

In addition to the allegations surrounding the violation of the OMA, the lawsuit outlines numerous instances related to alleged conflicts of interest between the city and several developers.

Bellfy’s lawsuit claims city attorneys also represent or have represented developers with contractual obligations to the city, including Strathmore Development Co., the developer behind the City Center II project.

City Center II is a proposed $97 million redevelopment project on the west end of East Lansing’s downtown that would bring a hotel, a theater and other features to the city, including new housing opportunities and office space.

Yeadon said the claims related to Strathmore Development Co. also are false.

Hank said the lawsuit is an attempt to hold the city council accountable for its actions.

“The most important thing is the city’s business is done in public and not behind closed doors,” he said. “(Yeadon’s) statement that the lawsuit is frivolous is absolutely ridiculous.”