Tennessee Coalition for Open Government Archives - Page 11 of 21

5 Jul, 2018

OxyContin maker Purdue withdraws effort to close parts of state’s lawsuit

By Deborah Fisher|2018-07-12T11:55:10-05:00July 5, 2018|Categories: court records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|1 Comment

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has withdrawn its motion for a protective order to conceal parts of the state of Tennessee's lawsuit against it that contains allegations and evidence of unlawful conduct. The state's attorney general filed its 274-page lawsuit under temporary seal, but argued the seal should be lifted within 10 days. Purdue then filed a motion for a protective order to seal parts of the lawsuit, claiming specific information in it were trade secrets that could harm its competitive position if revealed. Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. TCOG was permitted to intervene in the case, along with Knoxville News Sentinel Editor Jack McElroy, to oppose efforts [...]

15 Jun, 2018

Column: Opioid trial must be completely open

By Deborah Fisher|2018-06-15T10:58:41-05:00June 15, 2018|Categories: Open Courts, public records lawsuits Tennessee, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Deborah Fisher, Herbert Slatery, Jack McElroy, OxyContin, Purdue Pharma, Rick Hollow, TCOG news|0 Comments

An OxyContin tablet. Purdue Pharma, who makes OxyContin, has asked for a protective order in a Knoxville circuit court to keep concealed some details of allegations by the state of Tennessee that it violated a 2007 court order and the state's consumer protection laws. In 2007, the state of Tennessee and 25 other states reached a $19.5 million settlement agreement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, who they alleged was violating consumer laws in the marketing of their cash cow opioid drug. Among other allegations, the states said Purdue engaged in illegal marketing and downplayed the risks of addiction. Tennessee’s portion of the settlement was about $720,000. Kentucky [...]

22 May, 2018

TCOG, KNS file motion to intervene to keep records open in state’s lawsuit against Purdue Pharma

By Deborah Fisher|2018-05-22T10:15:53-05:00May 22, 2018|Categories: Open Courts, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: courts, Herbert Slatery, proprietary records, Purdue Pharma, sealed court records, TCOG news|0 Comments

NEWS from Tennessee Coalition for Open Government: We have filed, along with Jack McElroy, editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel, a motion to intervene in the state's opioid lawsuit against Purdue Pharma to oppose and object to any order restricting public access to records, exhibits, testimony, pleadings and other materials in the case. Deborah Fisher Read: Motion for leave to intervene Memorandum of law, citations of authority and argument in support of motion for leave to intervene Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery filed the action against OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, L.P. on May 15 in Knoxville Circuit Court. The complaint was filed under seal with an accompanying motion [...]

1 May, 2018

TCOG’s 2018 Legislative Report
Gallery
TCOG’s 2018 Legislative Report

crime records, exemptions, Legislature, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

TCOG’s 2018 Legislative Report

By Deborah Fisher|2020-02-20T17:23:53-06:00May 1, 2018|Categories: crime records, exemptions, Legislature, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: addresses, Advisory Committee on Open Government, artifact sites, autopsy reports, Ballad Health, Bill Haslam, civil rights crimes, college president selection, legislature, proprietary records, public records policies, radioactive waste, State Rep. Bill Sanderson, State Rep. Eddie Smith, State Rep. Harry Brooks, State Rep. Johnnie Turner, State Sen. Jeff Yarbro, State Sen. Joey Hensley, State Sen. Mike Bell, State Sen. Rusty Crowe, TBI, trade secrets, University of Tennessee|1 Comment

Following is TCOG's 2018 legislative report on changes related to public records and open meetings. The 110th General Assembly of Tennessee adjourned April 25. 1 - Selection of state college presidents (HB 2000 / SB 2586) A requirement in the law to reveal the names and applications of candidates for president at state colleges, including University of Tennessee, was changed to allow search committees to make public “up to three” finalists instead of requiring disclosure of “no less than three.” The effect is that college search committees now have the option of recommending to a governing board as few as one person as finalist for president. Only the finalist or [...]

30 Jan, 2018

Does Tennessee have too many exemptions to its public records law?

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T19:03:02-05:00January 30, 2018|Categories: exemptions, Legislature, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: crime records, deliberative process privilege, exemptions, law enforcement privilege|1 Comment

This week, the Tennessee Comptroller’s office released a list of 538 exemptions to the public records law passed by lawmakers. Most of those — almost 450 — were added in the past 30 years, according to the best information the office could find. But really, isn’t that one of the problems? Comptroller Chief of Staff Jason Mumpower, who oversees the Office of Open Records Counsel, told lawmakers in his presentation that the exemptions “are a hodgepodge all over the Tennessee Code Annotated.” It’s hard to tell exactly when some were created. He even acknowledged that they may have missed some, and if someone finds something not on the list, to [...]