News - Page 47 of 125 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

11 Jul, 2018

How much is AllianceBernstein getting in incentives? Sorry, that’s redacted

By Deborah Fisher|2018-07-13T17:03:33-05:00July 11, 2018|Categories: economic development, exemptions|Tags: economic development, industrial development board, Metro Nashville|1 Comment

The Nashville Business Journal reported today that government attorneys believe it's OK to redact information in a document put before a vote of Metro Nashville's industrial development board. That members of a governing body were kept in the dark and apparently had no concern about it demonstrates just how far we've come in our local and state government culture. It's sloppy government and the citizens of Tennessee deserve better. It concerns AllianceBernstein, which is moving its global headquarters from New York to Nashville. From the Business Journal, as reported by Adam Sichko: What the state has disclosed is a $17.5 million jobs grant tied to the money manager's decision to [...]

5 Jul, 2018

State’s lawsuit against Purdue Pharma – unsealed

By Deborah Fisher|2018-07-12T11:54:13-05:00July 5, 2018|Categories: court records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|0 Comments

Detailed data in the state's opioid lawsuit illustrate how Purdue Pharma continued to push its most profitable drug OxyContin to high-volume providers in Tennessee despite evidence that those providers were misusing or allowing misuse of the drug, according to the state's unsealed court filing. An OxyContin tablet In one instance, Purdue called on two providers 48 times after being flagged by law enforcement; in another case, Purdue made sales calls 31 times to a provider whose license was on probation because of issues related to his high prescribing of controlled substances. The lawsuit references a wealth of evidence collected by the state to back its allegations that Purdue [...]

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OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has withdrawn its motion for a protective order to conceal parts of the state of Tennessee's lawsuit against it that contains allegations and evidence of unlawful conduct.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

Are addresses and phone numbers in accident reports confidential?

By Deborah Fisher|2020-11-19T12:31:06-06:00June 15, 2018|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: attorney's fees, Bradley Jetmore, Doug Pierce, Memphis, traffic accident reports|0 Comments

Are address and phone numbers in accident reports confidential? A Memphis judge on June 6 said no in Bradley Jetmore v. City of Memphis, affirming that such information is public record and should be accessible to the public. The case originated after the City of Memphis in November 2017 stopped allowing public access to the reports and specifically to the driver information in the report. Doug Pierce with King & Ballow Memphis, like other cities, have for years provided public access to accident reports. But in October 2017, it was sued in federal court (Price v. City of Memphis), alleging that it was violating the federal Driver Privacy Protection [...]

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 [...]