Judge Orders Puyallup, WA to Pay $131,064 in Public Records Case

The Tacoma News Tribune (June 28, 2018) reported that Pierce County Superior Court Judge Stan Rumbaugh ordered the city of Puyallup, WA to pay $131,064 in penalties for nondisclosure of emails that were related to public business and stored on a private website maintained by Councilmember Steve Vermillion.

The judge’s ruling followed more than four years of litigation and appeals. The city fell short at every turn, including an ill-fated appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, rejected in fall 2017. In that span, the city spent $154,521 on outside attorneys, including $124,974. Combined with the penalties ordered by Rumbaugh, the total cost of the case exceeds $285,000.

Thus far, no court has sided with the City of Puyallup in its efforts to seek constitutional protections for the retention of emails sent by former Councilmember Steve Vermillion.

Rumbaugh’s ruling adds another complicating factor in the case. He held that the city and Vermillion were both liable for the penalties, creating a theoretical personal debt for Vermillion. While the city could pay the former councilman’s costs through a standard procedure known as indemnification, Beck and Ramerman argued in court that the unusual liability order violated legal precedent — a topic that could become fodder in appeal arguments.
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Puyallup isn't the only recent case of courts issuing fines against government agencies / cities for failure to disclose records in accordance with Freedom of Information Act / public records laws. We also saw that a Judge Ordered Tacoma to Pay $297,000 for (FOIA) Records Violations at the end of June 2018.

If you are a government employee, keep in mind that all of your official correspondence (letters, e-mail, text messages, etc.) may be subject to release as part of a public records request.

It is inappropriate, and probably illegal, for you to keep secret, hidden files on government computer networks, and/or to conduct government business on personal servers.

Failure to release government records, or extensive delays in releasing those records, can result in judgments costing a government agency hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney's fees and fines.