NJ Supreme Court fails to close door on “first strike” suits by public agencies. Legislature must step up.

The Editors of the New Jersey Law Journal have written an excellent commentary piece on the New Jersey Supreme Court’s 8/3/2017 decision in the case of Jeff Carter v. NJ State Firemen’s Association (NJSFA) (A-68-15). Below is NJFOG’s short summary of the case and court findings. We recommend reading the Editorial for greater detail. Background: Read More …

Colts Neck files “first strike” suit in OPRA matter

UPDATE (Sept. 14, 2016):  Colts Neck has had a change of heart regarding its lawsuit to have the records declared not public. They have decided to not pursue the lawsuit and have produced the records. ————-   Colts Neck Township has filed a declaratory action seeking a court ruling as to whether a report relating Read More …

Middlesex County Court rules only a records requestor can sue under OPRA

This case is one of at least five such lawsuits initiated by public agencies that are currently being litigated.  The five cases are summarized in this post. UPDATE (12/18/2015):  For NJ Appellate Court ruling, see https://njfog.org/2015/12/18/2707/. —– This May, NJFOG shared a post by John Paff about a lawsuit filed by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Read More …

Atlantic County Judge says public agencies can’t sue under OPRA!

A judge in Atlantic County has held that public agencies cannot sue requestors for declarations that the records sought are not subject to OPRA.  The court affirmed that only the requestor can sue under OPRA and awarded attorney’s fees to the defendant-requestor! Click HERE to see the written opinion and order in the case, Township of Hamilton v. Read More …

NJPA court brief challenges a public agency’s right to sue under OPRA

UPDATE (12/18/2015):  For NJ Appellate Court ruling, see https://njfog.org/2015/12/18/2707/. — The New Jersey Press Association (NJPA) has filed an amicus brief challenging a records custodian’s ability to file a declaratory judgment lawsuit in response to an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request. “It addresses the prickly issue of whether public agencies can initiate lawsuits under Read More …