litigation

9 Apr, 2014

Coalition asks appeals court to affirm records ruling in Vanderbilt rape case

By |2014-04-10T06:47:34-05:00April 9, 2014|Categories: crime records, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

The Tennessean and a coalition of others have asked the Court of Appeals to affirm a recent trial court's ruling that found no "blanket" exemption to the Tennessee Public Records Act for crime records during a pending criminal case. The open records lawsuit against Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County started with a public records request by The Tennessean that included text messages received or sent by third party sources in the Vanderbilt rape case. Metro Government denied those records, citing Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 16(a)(2), which bars discovery of certain law enforcement material during an active criminal prosecution. The Tennessean was joined in the petition by 10 other media [...]

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31 Mar, 2014

News Sentinel: Ruling affirms broad definition of public records

By |2015-08-18T08:11:54-05:00March 31, 2014|Categories: email, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

This editorial was published in the Knoxville News Sentinel on March 31. It is reprinted here with permission: Blount County Circuit Court Judge David Duggan struck a blow for open government this year by ordering Knox County to turn over nine emails that Law Director Bud Armstrong had deemed private. The News Sentinel had requested to see the emails, which were sent to or from county accounts, under the state’s Public Records Act. After Armstrong refused, the News Sentinel filed suit in October 2012, with attorney Richard Hollow handling the case on behalf of the newspaper and in the name of managing editor Tom Chester.   Judge David Duggan [...]

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28 Mar, 2014

Fox 17 Nashville interviews orthodontist who won open records lawsuit

By |2014-04-18T08:33:00-05:00March 28, 2014|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , |0 Comments

Stacy Case with Fox 17 WZTV Nashville interviewed the Rutherford County orthodontist who recently was awarded $31,000 in attorney's fees after suing the Rutherford County Board of Education for withholding records. The story on the open records lawsuit is part of the station's "Waste Watch" series. Fox 17 reports that Tracy Pack was trying to find out how a school principal was spending fund-raising money meant for students. A Murfreesboro judge recently ruled that the response of the school district to the citizen's request for public records was such that Pack was forced to hire an attorney and sue to gain access. Under the Open Records Act, a citizen can file a [...]

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18 Mar, 2014

Judge awards $31K to Murfreesboro citizen in open records lawsuit

By |2020-11-19T12:17:38-06:00March 18, 2014|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, schools|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

  Tracy Pack filed an open records lawsuit more than three years ago after he had requested records under the Tennessee Public Records Act and received what he suspected was an incomplete response. He told The Murfreesboro Post that he "just wanted to know whether county funds were being spent properly." Pack had requested copies of checks written by former principal Chontel Bridgeman on a Homer Pittard Campus School checking account. Fox 17 WZTV Nashville interviewed orthodontist Tracy Pack who sued the Rutherford County school board. Click on the photo to hear what Pack had to say. The award is the second time in recent months in which the [...]

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3 Mar, 2014

Chattanooga should not appeal open records ruling

By |2018-11-16T15:13:04-06:00March 3, 2014|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , |0 Comments

The Open Records Act in Tennessee has bite. Because the city of Chattanooga was found to be willful and dishonest in denying public records to citizen Rebecca Little, an appeals court said it must pay her attorneys’ fees and costs: $71,343. Citizens shouldn’t have to sue to get their local government to follow the law. Such a case is never easy. It took three years. The city appealed one decision to the Tennessee Supreme Court, which declined to hear it. The city could try again over the latest Appeals Court ruling on the amount of fees, further dragging out the case, creating more costs for both sides. It has until [...]

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