public records lawsuits Tennessee Archives - Page 8 of 20 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

19 Dec, 2019

Public records case against Knox County sheriff showcases thorny problems for requesters

By Deborah Fisher|2019-12-19T14:52:48-06:00December 19, 2019|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Chancellor John Weaver, Knox County Sheriff, Meghan Conley, public records requests|1 Comment

A public records lawsuit filed in April against Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler appears to be lurching slowly toward resolution. After two days of a bench trial on Dec. 9 and Dec. 10, Knox County Chancellor John F. Weaver gave attorneys until Jan. 13 to file final briefs and set Jan. 24 as the day for final arguments before the court. The case, Meghan Conley v. Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler, concerns several public records requests between August 2017 and March 2019. (See also the Memo in Support of Petition.) Conley, a University of Tennessee sociology professor, sought records related to the sheriff's participation in a 287(g) immigration enforcement program with [...]

16 Dec, 2019

BlueCross BlueShield, Cigna, Optum file reverse public records suits to stop release of price information

By Deborah Fisher|2019-12-17T09:50:17-06:00December 16, 2019|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: BlueCross Blue Shield, Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle, Cigna, Department of Finance and Administration, healthcare price information, Janet Kleinfelter, Judge Eli Richardson, Laurie Lee, Optum, reverse public records lawsuit, Robert Boston, Sherman Act, State Rep. Martin Daniel, Todd Presnell|1 Comment

Three large health care companies who contract with the state to administer the state's employee health care plan have filed lawsuits to prevent the Department of Finance and Administration from releasing payment information. They claim the release would reveal confidential price information that they have negotiated with health care providers for certain medical and health procedures -- information that they say is proprietary though the state pays the bills through its self-funded plan. Releasing healthcare price information violates Sherman Act, companies claim Laurie Lee is executive director of Benefits Administration in the state Department of Finance and Administration. Her office was preparing to release information about the state's health plan [...]

19 Aug, 2019

Court of Appeals reins in state’s expansive use of investigative exemption

By Deborah Fisher|2019-08-19T20:25:15-05:00August 19, 2019|Categories: investigative exemption, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Court of Appeals, Frank G. Clement Jr., investigative exemption, Janet Kleinfelter, Judge D. Michael Swiney, Judge Richard Dinkins, Phil Williams, TCOG news|1 Comment

The Tennessee Court of Appeals in a ruling on Friday put much-needed limits around the so-called investigative exemption that has been used by the state to cloak otherwise public records. "We hold that public records created in the ordinary course of business, which are non-investigative in nature, and which are otherwise accessible by Tennessee citizens under the TPRA (Tennessee Public Records Act), do not subsequently become exempt from disclosure because of the initiation of a criminal investigation in which those records become relevant," the Court ruled in Scripps Media, Inc. v. Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Williams requested travel, other ordinary public records from state News [...]

29 Apr, 2019

Sociology professor studying immigration files public records suit against Knox County sheriff

By Deborah Fisher|2020-11-19T12:41:58-06:00April 29, 2019|Categories: crime records, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: arrest records, Knox County Sheriff, Meghan Conley, police records|0 Comments

A sociology professor who researches immigration enforcement has filed a public records lawsuit against the Knox County Sheriff, claiming the office has repeatedly violated the law in denying and delaying access to public records. Meghan Conley has made a series of requests over the past 19 months for records related to the sheriff's office's 287(g) program that started almost two years ago. Meghan Conley, a sociology professor at University of Tennessee, has filed a public records lawsuit against the Knox County Sheriff after making a series of public records request related to immigration enforcement. Under the 287(g) program, the Knox County Sheriff's Office is authorized by U.S. Immigration and Customs [...]

25 Mar, 2019

TCOG, Associated Press, Gannett, Sinclair, others file amicus brief in “investigative records” case

By Deborah Fisher|2019-03-25T17:23:11-05:00March 25, 2019|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Chancellor Anne Martin, Court of Appeals, investigative exemption, NewsChannel 5, Paul McAdoo, Phil Williams, Tennessean v. Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County|1 Comment

Several news organizations and the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government have filed an amicus brief in a case under appeal in which ordinary public records were swept into an investigative file and then deemed confidential. The case, Scripps Media, Inc., v. Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and TBI, arose after Nashville NewsChannel 5 investigative reporter Phil Williams requested travel records, phone logs and credit card purchase summaries from the two state agencies. The agencies denied the request, citing the law enforcement "investigation" exemption. The records, they explained, had been requested by the district attorney as part of an investigation into potential misuse of funds. NewsChannel 5 [...]