The Haines Borough Assembly met in executive session Monday and authorized reimbursing Greg Goodman "up to $1,500 of legal fees incurred in connection with the administrative appeal" for a lawsuit filed in Superior Court against both the borough and Goodman.

"Greg Goodman was not there, but that was not unexpected," borough clerk Julie Cozzi said of the executive session.

Goodman said he has not attended executive sessions about the lawsuit because he views involvement as a conflict of interest.

Write-in candidate Karen Hess has challenged that Goodman did not meet borough residency requirements in the October election for assembly seat "E."

The assembly also met in executive session Nov. 30 to discuss the lawsuit, and members directed borough manager Mark Earnest to gather more information from borough attorney Brooks Chandler.

In an e-mail dated Nov. 29, Chandler wrote that the "plaintiff’s view of Mr. Goodman’s involvement in the case was unique," and Chandler cited Republican Joe Miller’s challenge of Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s re-election to the U.S. Senate.

Goodman "is named because plaintiff feels he has an interest at stake and should be ‘allowed’ to participate," Chandler wrote. "But the typical manner in which this is done … is (through) an elected official whose election victory is being challenged voluntarily moving to intervene in the case … rather than being named a defendant and forced to participate."

The next borough deadline in the lawsuit is Wednesday, Dec. 15, Cozzi said.

"That’s a deadline for getting documents to the court, which is called a record on appeal," she said. "I’m getting documents together, such as original documents from the election and the actual, original formal election contest I received and stuff like that … That’s due by the 15^th, and then some point after that, they will schedule another hearing."