Councilman Belles in talks to settle privacy invasion lawsuit

Luzerne County Councilman Chris Belles has entered into talks to settle a federal lawsuit alleging he invaded the privacy of people who signed a petition seeking to repeal the non-discrimination ordinance council approved over the summer, according to court records.

Repeal committee leaders Walter Griffith and Ben Herring filed the suit against Belles on July 2, alleging Belles’ decision to post petition records online was an attempt to deter people from signing the petition.

In a joint filing this week, attorneys for both parties said they are “discussing a possible resolution of this matter” and requested more time to prepare court documents “to allow those discussions to proceed without unnecessary briefing.”

U.S. District Judge Julia K. Munley granted the request and gave Griffith and Herring until Nov. 19 to respond to a defense motion seeking dismissal of the suit.

Belles is accused of invading the privacy of those who signed the petition seeking the repeal of the county’s non-discrimination ordinance by posting their names and home addresses to his personal Facebook page on June 30.

Herring and Griffith have said they are trying to protect petition signers from being doxed and harassed. Belles previously said he has no regrets about making the post but that he would not do it again.

“I don’t intend on cutting off my nose to spite my face,” Belles said in August.

While the parties negotiate that aspect of the controversial non-discrimination ordinance, a separate lawsuit is challenging the validity of roughly 4,000 of the 15,395 signatures that Griffith’s committee submitted Aug. 10.

The referendum can go on the primary election ballot in May 2027 after a final determination that at least 11,615 petition signatures are valid, and six Luzerne County residents have called into question whether the committee has met that burden.

A panel of Luzerne County judges who heard the challenge earlier this month appeared skeptical of the claims and ordered the plaintiffs to submit additional materials supporting their case.