The Kitsap Sun v. Kitsap County
May 11, 2010OUTCOME: Judgment for The Kitsap Sun affirmed.
Facts: Reporter from The Kitsap Sun ("Sun") made a request under the Public Records Act for certain information about county employees for the purposes of a story. The county first asserted that it wa ... s not sure whether it could disclose some of the requested records; the county then asserted that the records were exempt from disclosure, citing two statutory exemptions. Several employee guilds brought a suit to enjoin disclosure of the records under RCW 42.56.540; the county did not argue against the temporary and then permanent injunction sought by the guilds. The Sun intervened and sued the county to enforce the PRA. Trial court granted summary judgment in favor of The Sun, ruling that the records were not exempt, and also ruled that The Sun had prevailed against the county, thus entitling the newspaper to mandatory attorney fees, costs, and penalties under the PRA. The county appealed, arguing that The Sun did not prevail against the county because the county was neutral as to the disclosability of the sought records. Outcome: Affirmed. Trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding attorney fees and penalties to The Kitsap Sun. Division II's Opinion concluded that the agency's claim of good faith was insufficient; the County did not release the requested records in a timely manner; and the cases cited by the County were inopposite because in those cases, the agencies were restrained from releasing the records by a temporary injunction or restraining order. The Kitsap Sun was ruled to be the prevailing party on appeal, entitling it to mandatory attorneys' fees. On June 24, 2010, the Court issued its Ruling on Attorney Fees, awarding The Kitsap Sun all of its requested fees and costs.
