Updated: The coveted Fort Bend County Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner will be operated jointly by county GOP Chairman Gary Gillen and the county GOP Executive Committee.

Attorneys representing those two sides spent five hours in the county courthouse on Monday, hammering out an agreement for operating the fund-raiser jointly, under the watchful eye of Fort Bend County 240th District Judge Thomas Culver III.

A 9 a.m. hearing had been scheduled before Judge Culver to hear a request by the GOP executive committee for a temporary restraining order to prevent Gillen from operating the Lincoln-Reagan fund-raiser through a political action committee he controls. Instead, the judge ordered attorneys into his chambers and settlement negotiations began.

Culver was present during some negotiations with attorneys, and at other times lawyers and some of their clients met in a conference room. At one point, about 12-15 Fort Bend County GOP precinct chairmen spent a half-hour meeting in a closed-door session with attorneys representing the executive committee. Periodically, while Judge Culver worked in his chambers and on-lookers sat in his courtroom, attorneys and their clients also walked upstairs to confer on the courthouse building’s third floor.

At 2 p.m., while prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys waited for the afternoon criminal docket, Judge Culver asked attorneys to explain the settlement.

Brent Carpenter, representing the party executive committee, said the sides had agreed to hold the Lincoln Day Dinner jointly, operated by co-chairs. Gillen will act as one co-chair, and Tom Campbell, a Houston attorney and former congressional candidate, will serve as the other co-chair.

To serve in that function, Campbell first had to withdraw as co-counsel for the executive committee.

Carpenter and one of Gillen’s attorneys, Michael Cash, explained that money collected from sponsors of the dinner will be placed in one of two accounts controlled by the court (one account is for corporate contributions and the other is for personal contributions).

Judge Culver said he will schedule a hearing for 30 days after the Lincoln Day event is held. At that time an accounting will be made of the proceeds, and will be read into the court record to assure transparency.

Culvert also said any remaining issues not worked out as part of the settlement would be “held in abatement” until the court hearing to take an accounting of the dinner proceeds.

If the two sides to the negotiated settlement cannot agree on how any profit from the fund-raiser is to be spent, Cash and Campbell indicated, that would become one of the issues Culver would take up in the future court hearing.

Under the agreement, Gillen is to be immediately reimbursed for about $20,000 in expenses he incurred in reserving the Sugar Land Marriott Town Square, for fees to assure the presence of Fox News correspondent Fred Barnes as keynote speaker.

The legal action stemmed from Gillen’s announced intentions to operate the Lincoln-Reagan dinner through his Fort Bend Republican P.A.C. For several years previously, it had been run by the party itself, and has been the county party’s biggest fund-raising vehicle.

Upset over the move, members of the Fort Bend County GOP Executive Committee voted at a special meeting Dec. 14 to adopt a resolution telling Gillen and Muller to “cease and desist” in attempting to operate the 2007 fund-raiser and directed Howell to hire a lawyer to protect the party’s interests in maintaining control of the event.

Last week, the executive committee filed a suit, as the Republican Party of Fort Bend County, against Gillen and a political action committee, saying he abused his position by scheming to divert money from the party “for his own selfish purposes.”

In a response to that suit, Gillen said the executive committee’s lawsuit should be dismissed because it was “filed illegally.” He also countersued five individuals - county GOP Vice Chairman Linda Howell, and precinct chairmen Dean Hrbacek, David Stone, Jim Hammack and Bill Benton.

As part of the agreement hashed out Monday, the executive committee dropped its suit against Gillen “without prejudice,” meaning it may reinstitute action against him in the future. The suit remains in affect against Gillen’s Fort Bend Republican P.A.C., although attorneys involved in the case said any continuing action will be held in abatement along with other issues, until Judge Culver holds another hearing on the matter.

Also, Gillen agreed to end the countersuit against Howell, Hrbacek, Stone, Hammack and Benton “with prejudice,” meaning the suit against the five cannot be reinstated.