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The American judicial system isn’t always known for its swift action.

But Skagit County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Yost Neidzwski took less than five minutes Dec. 15 to dismiss with prejudice a complaint filed by Shelter Bay residents Wesley and Roberta Fontenot against Philip Buri, the residential community’s longtime legal counsel.

Dismissal with prejudice means a plaintiff cannot refile the same claim in that court.

Roberta Fontenot, previously an assistant federal public defender in Louisiana, did not appear in court. She had named Buri in a lawsuit along with five Shelter Bay board of...