Top State Court Fines County $371K for Delayed Response to 1997 Public Records Request
Nearly 13 years ago, Armen Yousoufian made a public records request to King County, Wash., which received a partial response. Three years later, he filed suit to obtain the rest of the material he requested.
As of today, it appears that he has a final answer concerning the penalty to be imposed concerning what a majority of the Washington Supreme Court deemed the county’s “gross negligence” in failing to respond more promptly to Yousoufian’s request.
Finding that a trial court abused its discretion by fining the county merely $15 for each day of delay, under the circumstances, and noting as well that more guidance is needed concerning appropriate penalties for Public Record Act violations, an en banc majority imposes a $45-per-day fine for the 8,252-day delay in its written opinion.
That adds up to $371,000, notes the Associated Press.
A dissenting opinion says that the trial court’s determination that a $15-per-day penalty was appropriate should have been respected and upheld.
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