ODESSA, Texas — A hearing was held Friday at the Ector County Courthouse regarding the case between Gaven Norris and the City of Odessa.
The hearing had been postponed twice already, but finally went ahead as scheduled. Judge John Shrode gave both parties 15 minutes to give an argument before making his decision.
After hearing from both sides, the judge ultimately moved to dismiss the case.
“The city attempted to, or filed a motion to, try to dismiss the suit, saying that there was no controversy or no existing pending suit," Norris said. "So that’s what the hearing was on today. We had the argument in front of the judge on their motion for that.”
Norris initially filed a lawsuit against the city in December after he and others were not allowed to speak during an Odessa City Council meeting that saw a city manager and a city attorney fired.
However, Norris was able to speak at a second city council meeting that was organized by Odessa.
This, among other reasons, contributed to the judge's decision to dismiss the case.
“The judge said that he didn’t think that he had the jurisdiction to do that," Norris said. "Obviously, we disagree. We think the law actually says he has jurisdiction. But that was the judge's ruling and we respect the ruling.”
Odessa mayor Javier Joven did not attend the hearing today, but was made aware of the results.
He is hopeful that the City of Odessa will be able to continue moving forward.
“Basically, it’s that this is not really about myself, this is not about the council," Joven said. "This is more about the City of Odessa, and propelling the City of Odessa as a whole forward, and having that momentum going forward.”
Norris, however, doesn’t plan to give up yet, and said that he has plenty of options on the table.
“We know that we will likely have to look at all of our options, including appealing this judge's ruling," Norris said. "We've been consistent in that there are other lawsuits we intend to file, so we have some that will be coming in the same vein. Our goal is to hold the city accountable, and we intend to do that by any means necessary, including the judicial process.”