Two Ohio Supreme Court decisions denying attorney fees to a woman who fought the city of South Euclid for public records represent major setbacks to the cause of open government in Ohio, according to the Ohio Newspaper Association.
“This is an egregious case,” said Dennis Hetzel, executive director of the ONA. “The city stonewalled the citizen requesting the information for months, and she even had to get an accountant to show that records the city claimed it didn’t have really existed.”
The court ruled on Feb. 18 in two separate cases brought by Emilie DeFranco against South Euclid that while she was entitled to damages up to a maximum of $1,000 because of the city’s unresponsiveness, state statutes meant she wasn’t entitled to recover legal fees. Continue>>>
======