WEST COVINA CITY COUNCIL FILES LITIGATION AGAINST COUNCILMEMBER BRIAN GUTIERREZ FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH CALIFORNA PUBLIC RECORDS ACT 

West Covina, CA – On February 17, 2026, the West Covina City Council approved by a vote of 4-0 a lawsuit against Councilmember Brian Gutierrez for his failure to comply with the California Public Records Act. The decision was reached in closed session from which Mr. Gutierrez was recused due to a conflict of interest. The decision was announced during the public meeting, and a Writ of Mandate (“Writ”) was filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court later that evening. 

The Writ alleges that, after receiving a Public Records Act request for documents and information Mr. Gutierrez used or viewed during over two dozen City Council meetings, Mr. Gutierrez produced only a handful of documents that appeared largely miscellaneous. The Writ further alleges that, despite Mr. Gutierrez self-admitted use of generative artificial intelligence in the performance of his duties, he failed or refused to produce his prompts or chats with the AI chatbots he uses. The Writ also alleges that, when asked by the City Clerk’s office to at least preserve his records of AI use, Mr. Gutierrez responded in a manner that suggested he did not intend to do so. 

Regarding the filing, Acting City Manager Milan Mrakich stated, “We regret that the City was forced to take this action, but, as set forth in the Writ of Mandate filed last night, Mr. Gutierrez is withholding public records in his personal possession and even appears to claim that he does not need to preserve them. The City is required by state law to comply with all California Public Records Act Requests, and Mr. Gutierrez actions could subject the City to significant liability.” 

The matter is City of West Covina v. Brian Gutierrez, filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court on February 17, 2026. A case number has not yet been assigned.