CHEROKEE — Cherokee Councilwoman Patricia Mason has been dismissed from a lawsuit filed after the August municipal election.

Mason was one of three parties in the suit, filed by Deborah Malone, a candidate for the District 4 seat, who requested an election recount after Mason won by two votes. Malone also named the town of Cherokee and its town clerk, Melinda Malone in the lawsuit. The town and Malone were dismissed from the suit in November.

In addition to the recount request, Malone claimed illegal votes were cast and that legal votes were rejected. The lawsuit also claimed bribery as well as intimidation or other misconduct calculated to prevent a fair, free and full exercise franchise, according to language in the lawsuit.

Mason filed a motion to dismiss the claim because of what she deemed improper filing on Malone's part. In December, Malone's attorney, Rebecca Narmore, also filed a motion to dismiss after which the case was dropped.

Mason's attorney, Brian Hamilton, of Russellville, said he was comfortable, from a legal standpoint, that the case would be dismissed.

"On behalf of Patricia Mason, I'm pleased that it has been dismissed so that now she can fully focus her efforts on the work of the town," Hamilton said.

Malone, who had vowed with her initial filing to see the legal process through, said she had no choice but to drop the case although it was never her intention to do so.

She said because key filing deadlines were missed, "it just wasn't going to be a winnable case no matter how much information and proof of wrongdoing I had."