We learned a new legal term: vexatious litigant. According to the courts, it’s someone who files lawsuits to harass or burden others rather than seek justice. Interesting, right?

That phrase came to mind when we received a campaign fundraising email from Reno City Councilmember and 2026 mayoral hopeful Devon Reese — curiously timed just as multiple media outlets are reporting on the civil case tying together Michael Leonard (the plaintiff) and several local notables: Alex Velto (2024 Assembly candidate, Reno Planning Commissioner, and attorney), Conor McQuivey (Renoites podcast host and Washoe County employee), and of course Reese himself, Velto’s law partner.

If Reno politics had a royal court, case CV25-01334 would be the scandal of the season. Picture it: a wine bar, an elderly gentleman, and a Reno City Councilmember with 2026 mayoral dreams—except the evening allegedly turned from small talk to small brawl, and now we’re all waiting for the tapes.

The wine bar’s two strategically placed cameras are the crown jewels in this drama. When the footage is uncorked. The video should finally reveal this story.

Just when you thought the courtroom drama of Michael Leonard vs. Sarah Velto, Alex Velto, Connor McQuivey, Renoites, Devon Reese, and Reese Ring Velto PLLC couldn't possibly get more absurd — the script gets another rewrite.

Fresh off the wine-splashed tension of the Belleville Bar standoff between Leonard and Reese (yes, that one) earlier this year - then the police report, and following a steady stream of filings thicker than a Tolstoy novel in the 2nd Judicial District Court, a new character bursts onto the stage: Simons Hall & Johnston.