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Case Name: Libertarians for Transparent Government (LFTG) v. Borough of Caldwell Docket Number: ESX-L-005197-16 County: Essex Filing Date: August 3, 2016 Presiding Judge: Covello, Frank Status: Closed Overview: The complainant sought settlement correspondence and draft agreements traded between the parties to a lawsuit in which the Borough of Caldwell was the defendant. At Read More …
Case Name: Libertarians for Transparent Government (LFTG) v. City of Jersey City Docket Number: HUD-L-002952-16 County / Vicinage: Hudson Filing Date: July 21, 2016 Judge: D’Alessandro, Daniel Status: Closed. Overview: This case determined that an Open Public Records Act requestor was entitled to a handwritten settlement agreement even though the handwritten agreement expressly Read More …
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Settlement agreements to which a governmental agency is a party — and for which taxpayers are on the hook directly or through the cost of insurance — are public records under New Jersey’s OPRA law. Last week NJFOG board member and transparency advocate John Paff reported on Read More …
The lesson here is that “if no records responsive to an OPRA request exist, we must tell the requestor that in no uncertain terms,” said Paff. Had Bayonne’s attorney done that, Paff claims he would not have filed the suit. Paff had submitted an OPRA request for records that would provide the terms of a Read More …
An OPRA lawsuit against the City of Bayonne seeks records which would reveal the terms of a settlement offer ahead of formal adoption by the governing body, but following the city’s 9/24/2015 statement, according to the plaintiffs’ attorney, that a proposed settlement agreement had been approved. -NJFOG HudsonReporter.com Jan. 28, 2016 BAYONNE – A Read More …