TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Appeals Court Upholds Ruling in Open Records Suit, But Denies Some Legal Fees

Posted by: Kate Prince on Feb 3, 2022
News Type: Legal News

The Tennessee Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a lower court’s ruling that the Knox County Sheriff’s Office wrongly withheld public records from a University of Tennessee professor and should pay legal fees in the case, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. However, the court also ruled that the sheriff’s office won’t have to pay nearly as much as the $78,000 in fees originally ordered. According to the court, professor Meghan Conley was eligible only for attorney’s fees related to the records that were “willfully denied,” or two of the 12 she sought. The case will likely go back to Knox County Chancellor John Weaver who will determine the new amount of fees or double down on his decision and keep the fees where they are. Conley’s attorney Andrew Fels, who worked the case for free, was originally awarded $55,762.50; Dean Hill Rivkin was awarded $19,440 for arguing attorney fees on Conley’s behalf; and Conley was awarded an additional $2,805.25.

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