Gov't
Records Lawsuit Settled without Trial
By |
Central's former city services contractor CH2M Hill, Inc. has settled a lawsuit with Community Press, LLC over documents requested by Community Press. The two private companies reached a settlement agreement and submitted it to Judge Kay Bates for approval as a "stipulated judgment", which was approved by the court.
In a stipulated judgment the two parties agree, out of court, to terms which will satisfy their lawsuit, then they submit the agreement to the court for approval. In this case, CH2M Hill agreed to produce internal documents consisting of 58 emails between their own employees and to or from The Advocate, all having to do with the placement of an ad in March of 2010. CH2M Hill further agreed to pay an undisclosed amount for legal fees of Community Press. Both parties agreed to pay all of their own court costs in the lawsuit.
With this settlement the remaining claims of both parties are dismissed "with prejudice", meaning it can never be brought to court again. As such, there is no court ruling as to whether the documents in question were "public records" and no legal precedent has been set.
0 comments