Lawsuit filed against councilwoman dismissed

Court rules Nancy Fellows 'did not engage in misfeasance or malfeasance'

A lawsuit filed in June 2020 to remove Willoughby Hills City Councilwoman Nancy Fellows from office was dismissed this week in Lake County Probate Court.

The 19-count suit was filed by Willoughby Hills residents Tony Miller, Vicki Miller, Jeffrey Fruscella, Steve Crone and Jack Hay, and accused Fellows of “misfeasance and malfeasance by voting on ordinances as a counci member” during her council tenure.

Judge Thomas A. Swift, sitting by assignment, granted a motion for summary judgment and ordered that judgment be entered in favor of Fellows and against petitioners on all claims in the complaint.

Swift further ordered the five petitioners to pay all court costs.

According to court documents, Swift noted that 17 of the 18 failed claims in the case were “identical” to claims filed by the same five petitioners in cases dismissed in 2019 against Fellows and five former council members.

Swift added both cases were based on allegations by then-Willoughby Hills Mayor Robert Weger, who attempted to fire six out of the seven elected council members and appoint their replacements prior to the issuance of a restraining order against him by the Lake County Court of Common Pleas.

Fellows continued in her role during the suit and stated when she ran in 2017 that it would be her last term after 20 years of service, including council president and vice president.

As Willoughby Hills Council President, Fellows led the first woman majority on any city council in the

“I am very thankful for the judge’s ruling because it sets the record straight once and for all. My colleagues and I (on Willoughby Hills Council) did nothing wrong and the court’s ruling reflects that fact... This is certainly a weight off of my shoulders and off of the community, and I do thank all the people who have been so supportive of me.” — Nancy Fellows

history of Lake County and was presented the Annual Woman of Achievement Award by the Women’s Center at Lakeland Community College.

“I am very thankful for the judge’s ruling because it sets the record straight once and for all,” Fellows said. “My colleagues and I (on Willoughby Hills Council) did nothing wrong and the court’s ruling reflects that fact.

“We voted to balance the budget, but the mayor and some of his friends disagreed with the hard choices we made for the good of our community,” she added. “Instead of good-faith debate, the mayor’s political allies chose to personally attack us for their own political gain, and our families suffered greatly.

“This is certainly a weight off of my shoulders and off of the community, and I do thank all the people who have been so supportive of me.”

Fellows