In a lawsuit filed Thursday, Lane County Commissioner David Loveall claims that his rights to free speech, due process and religious freedom, and right against retaliation were violated by the county, County Administrator Steve Mokrohisky, and fellow commissioners Heather Buch, Pat Farr and Laurie Trieger.
The 35-page lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court in Eugene also alleges multiple violations of Oregon Public Meeting laws in February and March.
The lawsuit seeks several forms of relief, including declarations that the plaintiffs violated his constitutional rights and broke public meeting laws, an injunction against actions taken against Loveall, the covering of legal fees and monetary damages from the individuals named in their personal capacities.
Lawsuit is the latest in turmoil around Loveall’s comments to county employees
The claims stem from the handling of complaints of inappropriate workplace behavior and retaliation by Loveall against three employees, including Mokrohisky.
A summary of a report commissioned by the county stated many of the allegations were true, and commissioners voted to censure Loveall earlier this month.
The summary cited use of religious language by Loveall toward a county employee, “Christian specifically terms like ‘Kingdom work,’ which he wrote while signing my birthday card.”
It also said that another employee complained after Loveall talked about a community partner “looking like a ‘stripper on a strip pole.’”
Loveall’s lawsuit states that he met with that employee, saying it was someone else who made the comment. The lawsuit said the employee “reported to HR that there had been ‘closure’ to her concerns after meeting with [Loveall].”
A statement to that effect is not in the report summary.
The summary also states that Loveall and other elected officials are not subject to rules about workplace language, a claim it said he made to Mokrohisky.
He repeatedly asked Mokrohisky to put an end to complaints against him by employees. Mokrohisky would go on to file his own complaints over Loveall’s treatment of him, including responses to those complaints and unfavorable reviews of his performance.
The report summary found other actions, including a podcast appearance and others, constituted retaliation by Loveall against all three employees.
Public Meeting Law violations
Loveall’s lawsuit claims that the Lane County Board of Commissioners also violated Oregon’s Public Meeting Laws several times over the course of February and March.
It points to a Feb. 18, 2026 commissioners meeting where Loveall asked for a public name-clearing meeting, but only after he received and reviewed the full county-commissioned report, rather than just the summary.
It states that the board went into executive session at that same meeting and discussed the matter after Loveall “requested that this meeting occur after he and the other commissioners receive the full investigative report and the evidence alleged to support the findings.”
The board would come out of executive session at that meeting and ask Loveall to offer an apology for his actions by the next meeting, scheduled for March 3.
A note on the March 3 meeting’s agenda left space for “A Statement of Unity and Support for Those Reporting Discrimination and Harassment.”
The unanimous vote in favor of that statement was followed by a call for Loveall’s apology followed by his censure. The censure was approved on a 3-1 vote, with the three commissioners who are named in the lawsuit voting in favor.
“The agenda for the meeting gave no public notice that a censure of [Loveall] would
be considered, which is another violation of Oregon’s Public Meetings Law,” the lawsuit claims.
It also claims that public records released to news outlets were selectively redacted to reflect on Loveall unfavorably.
When asked for comment or an interview on the lawsuit, Loveall responded in an email to KLCC, “As per my counsel’s recommendation, I will not be making comments about the pending lawsuit right now.”
A request for comment sent to Lane County was not immediately returned.
