Lansford Borough Council could soon have a vacancy as a civil complaint to remove an incarcerated councilman moves ahead.

Borough solicitor Bob Yurchak on Wednesday updated council and residents on the status of a quo warranto complaint in Carbon County Court to remove its vice president, Jay Doyle, from office.

Council asked Carbon County District Attorney Michael Greek to file the complaint in January after a judge sentenced Doyle to 42 to 84 months in state prison for a 2023 felony assault that left a man hospitalized for five weeks.

He is currently lodged in the State Correctional Facility in Waymart, Wayne County.

Residents last week questioned the status, as council has been down one person since Doyle’s sentencing in October. One resident urged council to send a letter to the district attorney seeking expediency.

Yurchak explained that there appears to be some misconceptions about the complaint and the civil process, which is moving forward.

“There were some statements made last week about how the county is sitting on (the complaint),” he said. “The county is not sitting on it.”

District Attorney Greek filed the complaint on Jan. 15, and Doyle must be served the paperwork, Yurchak said.

The district attorney must contact the sheriff in the county where Doyle is being housed to serve the complaint and obtain a check from the county commissioners to pay for the service, he said.

The complaint had to be reissued multiple times due to Doyle being moved to different facilities within the state prison system, delaying the process until last month, Yurchak said.

The Wayne County sheriff served the paperwork on April 15, and the county received proof of the service this week, he said.

“So, they can’t move forward without him getting notified and having an opportunity to defend himself in court,” Yurchak said. “That hasn’t happened until just now.

President Judge Roger Nanovic scheduled a management conference on the matter for this morning at 9 a.m., he said.

“The judge schedules a management conference to keep things moving and rolling,” Yurchak said. “He wants to set a deadline and guidelines and set it for a hearing.”

The judge may require Greek to send a default notice, as there has been no answer to the petition as of Wednesday afternoon, he said.

“He may require him to do that or he may just schedule for a hearing,” Yurchak said. “I can’t say what Judge Nanovic is going to do.”

Resident and council candidate Joe Genits, who urged council to send a letter to the district attorney and implied there was a reason for the delays, asked if Doyle would be required to appear in court.

Yurchak explained that he could Doyle transported to Carbon County for a hearing, but would more likely appear via Zoom, or videoconferencing.

Yurchak also pointed out that it was unfair to both the district attorney and the judge to say or imply that they weren’t doing their jobs, because they were.