promptly Archives - 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 [...]

Metro Nashville must pay nearly $57K in attorneys fees in public records case

By Deborah Fisher|2020-04-09T09:09:40-05:00October 4, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Alex Friedmann, attorneys' fees, Bradley Jetmore, Doug Pierce, Judge Robert E. Lee Davies, Metro Nashville, promptly, public records request, traffic accident reports|0 Comments

Senior Judge Robert E. Lee Davies ordered Metro Nashville to pay nearly $57K in attorneys fees to a public records requester, saying that the city "misinterpreted and ignored the 'promptness' requirement" in the Tennessee Public Records Act. Davies found the city was willful in not complying with the law, a requirement for awarding attorneys fees in a public records lawsuit. Senior Judge Robert E. Lee Davies orders Metro Nashville to pay attorneys fees in public records case that challenged the city's delay in releasing records. Plaintiff Bradley Jetmore filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming Metro Nashville's police department records division had begun delaying release of traffic reports after about [...]

Judge says Nashville violated law by not providing public records promptly

By Deborah Fisher|2016-10-04T07:45:21-05:00August 26, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Doug Pierce, Judge Robert E. Lee Davies, Metro Nashville, promptly, public records lawsuit, public records request|0 Comments

In what may be the first legal challenge to government delays on public records requests in Tennessee under a 2008 law, a judge has ruled that Metro Nashville violated the “prompt” provision in the statute by holding up traffic accident reports. Senior Judge Robert E. Lee Davies ordered the city to provide access to the reports within 72 hours of their creation. He also found that Metro Nashville Police Department’s request form did not comply with the Public Records Act because it stated that the city had “seven business days to process” a records request, which is contrary to law. Many requesters, including journalists across the state, often complain that [...]