public records lawsuits Tennessee Archives - Page 10 of 20 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

16 Oct, 2017

Delaying access to public records violates law, appeals court rules

By Deborah Fisher|2020-04-09T09:09:02-05:00October 16, 2017|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: attorneys' fees, Bradley Jetmore, Doug Pierce, Judge Andy Bennett, Metro Nashville, promptly, public records request, traffic accident reports|1 Comment

Government entities cannot ignore the requirement in the Tennessee Public Records Act to provide access to records promptly and still be in compliance with the law, according to an appellate court ruling last week in Jetmore v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Court of Appeals Judge Andy Bennett In the opinion delivered by Judge Andy D. Bennett, the court upheld a trial court's finding against the Metro Nashville Police Department, which had limited the number of traffic accident reports it would provide a requester to three a day. The appellate court also upheld the award of attorney's fees to the requester who brought the lawsuit, saying [...]

29 Sep, 2017

Appeals court rules economic development organization subject to public records, open meetings law

By Deborah Fisher|2020-02-23T10:09:55-06:00September 29, 2017|Categories: economic development, functional equivalent, open meetings lawsuits, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Dandridge, economic development records, functional equivalent, Jefferson County, Judge Charles Susano Jr., Judge D. Michael Swiney, Judge Steven Stafford, public records lawsuit|0 Comments

In a win for a group of citizens in East Tennessee, the Court of Appeals in Knoxville ruled this week that a nonprofit economic development organization in Jefferson County is subject to the state's public records and open meetings laws. The court held in Oliver Wood et al. v. Jefferson County Economic Development Oversight Committee, Inc., that the nonprofit organization, which has received between 60 percent to 68 percent of its budget from local governments each year, is the functional equivalent of a government entity and subject to the Tennessee Public Records Act. The court also ruled that because EDOC has a significant role in making decisions and recommendations to local government [...]

3 Aug, 2017

Sumner County School Board blames the Office of Open Records Counsel for bad advice

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-16T15:13:59-06:00August 3, 2017|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: attorneys' fees, Elisha Hodge, Jim Fuqua, Ken Jakes, Office of Open Records Counsel, Sumner County School Board|0 Comments

The Sumner County Board of Education blames the Office of Open Records Counsel for bad advice that led it on a journey of spending almost $250,000 of taxpayer money to defend, then appeal, a public records lawsuit that it lost. From The Tennessean: "We are disappointed that the court decided that the board’s former policy did not comply with a 2008 version of Tennessee’s public records statute, especially because the Office of Open Records Counsel, which has the legal duty to interpret the act, informed the board that its policy was lawful and that its response to Mr. Jakes’ request was appropriate under the law," a statement reads. "The board [...]

2 Aug, 2017

Appellate court upholds ruling: Sumner County Schools violated public records law

By Deborah Fisher|2017-08-03T08:06:28-05:00August 2, 2017|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Frank G. Clement Jr., Judge Dee David Gay, Judge John W. McClarty, Judge Neal McBrayer, Ken Jakes, Office of Open Records Counsel, Sumner County School Board, TCOG news|1 Comment

The Court of Appeals has affirmed a Sumner County trial court's ruling that the denial of a public records request because it was sent by email violated the Tennessee Public Records Act. Sumner County Board of Education attorney Jim Fuqua. In March 2014, the Sumner County Board of Education denied Ken Jakes' request to see the board's public records policy, saying he had to make the request in person, or send it via U.S. Postal Service. Jakes sued, the Sumner County trial court found in his favor, and the school board voted to appeal the ruling. The school board's attorney, Jim Fuqua, testified that he was relying on [...]

28 Jul, 2017

Appeals Court: Records in Memphis police chief search not public

By Deborah Fisher|2020-02-23T10:10:18-06:00July 28, 2017|Categories: functional equivalent, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Chancellor Walter Evans, functional equivalent, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Judge Arnold Goldin, Judge Kenny Armstrong, Judge Richard Dinkins, Memphis, Memphis Publishing Co. v. Cherokee, Memphis Publishing Co. v. City of Memphis, Mike Rallings, police chief applications, The Commercial Appeal|0 Comments

The Court of Appeals ruled this week that applications sent to a police association charged with interviewing and identifying finalists for a new Memphis police chief last year do not have to be released under the state's public records law. The International Association of Chiefs of Police was contracted by the city of Memphis for $40,000 to conduct a search for a new director of police, identify and interview semifinalists and "recommend a group (approximately six) of the most highly qualified candidates for further on-site evaluation." Last summer, a reporter with The Commercial Appeal requested to see all applications, noting he was "primarily interested in the finalists," but the city [...]