Open Records Laws

The president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of New York, IAFF Local 94 has filed suit against the City of New York and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito using the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) to publically allege that she has been “stone-walling” consideration of a pension related resolution.

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A Rhode Island fire district has agreed to pay a $1500 fine for violating the state’s public records law. The Manville Fire District was accused of failing to respond to a public records request back in 2014. Attorney General Peter Kilmartin filed suit against Manville to enforce the requirements of the APRA.

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Settlements involving two fire departments are in the fire law news today. In New Jersey, a sexual harassment suit against the Franklin Township Fire District No. 3 has been settled. In Maryland, a wrongful death suit brought by the family of a 17-year old who died at a fire department sponsored carnival has been settled.

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A human resources director in Fernandina Beach, Florida who was terminated last month claims she is the victim of retaliation for having voiced “concerns regarding acts of gross mismanagement and misfeasance on the part of the City of Fernandina Beach’s Fire Department”.

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Two Kenosha, Wisconsin union officials are facing suspensions for their role in a complicated case where a cellphone allegedly recorded a discussion that took place after they stepped out of a meeting with the fire chief. But the case raises a number of more complicated issues involving criminal law, evidence, and even a Constitutional question or two!!!

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A former Palm Beach battalion chief who was demoted in 2011 and fired in 2012 has filed a new suit against the town, claiming it violated the state’s pubic record act. Jason Weeks was one of two firefighters at the ...

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A New Jersey fire department has become the unexpected beneficiary of court awarded attorney fees in a digital age public records case. Last January developer 297 Palisade Avenue Urban Renewal Company LLC filed suit against the Borough of Bogata seeking ...

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Today’s burning question:  Are text messages subject to disclosure under the public records laws? Answer: Yes, work related text messages sent or received by a public employee are a public record and unless they fall under one of the listed ...

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A local newspaper has filed suit against a Washington fire district for refusing to provide requested public records, destroying requested records, and violation of the state’s open meetings law. The La Conner Weekly News filed a 37 page complaint against ...

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The former fire chief of a California fire district who resigned last year has filed suit against the district claiming defamation and fraud. Fire chief Marc Revere resigned from the Novato Fire District in November 2012 shortly after questions were ...

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A settlement has been reached in the contentious public records case that evolved out of the tragic Yarnell Fire in Arizona earlier this year. On June 30, 2013 nineteen Granite Mountain Hotshot firefighters from the Prescott (AZ) Fire Department were ...

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There has been a new legal twist in the Leonia Fire Department story we reported on last week. Recall that after a prospective member allegedly inappropriately touched a firefighter’s three year old in the fire station, the borough ordered the ...

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Additional details are emerging about the police investigation of the Columbus Fire & EMS that we posted about last week. It appears the primary focus of the investigation relates to the staffing level of the first in engine at a ...

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Investigation is related to a fire in a daycare center that killed a one year old child.

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