After more than four years of litigation over public records access in Curtis Lee v. Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida, 7th Circuit Judge Kathryn Weston on June 18 awarded the State Attorney’s Office for the 4th Judicial Circuit more than $134,000 in fees and costs.
“Our Public Records team continues to do an outstanding job serving the public. This litigation wasted office resources and taxpayer money, and it was totally unnecessary. We are grateful that the taxpayer dollars the office has been forced to spend on this lawsuit will be returned and can be used for their intended purpose,” State Attorney Melissa Nelson said in a June 25 news release.
In 2022, Weston ruled in favor of the SAO, concluding that the SAO had ”fully and timely” responded to plaintiff Lee’s public records requests and that the SAO’s public records policy complied with the overall spirit and purpose of the state’s Public Records Act. The 5th District Court of Appeal affirmed that ruling in 2023.
Weston’s most recent ruling and fee award comes after a day-long evidentiary hearing. In finding that plaintiff Lee brought his lawsuit “for an improper purpose,” the court acknowledged Lee’s animus for the SAO.
The court concluded that no reasonable person would have filed such a lawsuit, particularly given “the SAO’s continued professional handling of Mr. Lee’s repeated records requests.”
The court also concluded that Lee’s lawsuit was frivolous and lacking legal justification. The final judgment orders Lee to reimburse the SAO the taxpayer dollars it paid to defend against the lawsuit.
Attorney Michael Lockamy and the Bedell Firm represented the SAO in the litigation.