The Kennebec County Superior Court has ordered a government entity to pay $130,000 in attorney fees for failing to comply with Maine’s Freedom of Access law.
It is the first finding in Maine that a government body acted in bad faith in a request seeking public records.
The Human Rights Defense Coalition first requested documents from the Maine County Commissioners’ Association Self-Funded Risk Management Pool in 2021.
Carol Garvan is the legal director for the ACLU of Maine, which represents the Coalition.
"This decision sets the standard for bad faith, and that's a really important decision because it shows that the freedom of access act in Maine has teeth, it shows there are consequences for government entities who choose not to comply with the FOAA law," Garvan said.
The pool is a government entity responsible for covering the costs of legal settlements, and the coalition had requested documents for a settlement payment for misconduct at the Kennebec county jail.
"This precedent I think really changes the calculus, and we hope that it sends a really strong signal to government entities that it is critical for them to comply with these public records requests and do that in good faith," Garvan said.
The case was appealed to the Supreme Judicial Court, which ruled last year that the pool acted in bad faith. The superior court ruled on the dollar amount for the legal fees earlier this month.
