Local Blogger Moves Forward with OPRA Lawsuit Against Galloway

For the second time in seven months, is being served with a lawsuit in connection with alleged open public records violations.

On Thursday, March 15, Harry Scheeler, publisher of gallowaytwpnews.com, filed a complaint in New Jersey Superior Court against the township and former part-time acting clerk Leticia M. Loeser. The suit alleged a failure to fill requests filed by Scheeler under the guidelines of the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) dating back to Feb. 6 of this year.

On Monday, Scheeler, of Woodbine, posted a story on his website stating that the township had begun to fill the requests in connection with his suit, but told Galloway Patch via email that his lawsuit would proceed.

“Even though they started to release the documents, they are redacting info they are not permitted to, and I want them found in violation by the court,” Scheeler said in his email.

Scheeler’s attorney, Donald Doherty, has been labeled an "OPRA Warrior," by the New Jersey Law Journal. He was one of nine attorneys named "Attorney of the Year," in 2010 for his work on OPRA matters.

"What Galloway seems to appreciate is that the more material that gets released, the higher the flames are fanned," Doherty said in an emailed response to Galloway Patch. "The situation out there is unfortunate, but it is not going to get any better by simply not responding. People will get their information from other sources, but the problem is that body of information is skewed–you can only learn the 'side" someone wants you to know about if they control the information."

Township Solicitor Michael Blee didn’t respond to email messages seeking comment.

Deputy Mayor Tony Coppola had no comment due to the pending litigation.

In the brief for the lawsuit, Scheeler contends the township set its own response date for requests he filed, didn’t respond, set new deadlines and failed to meet those, repeatedly. Ultimately, the township set a deadline for itself of March 5, and when Scheeler objected, the township sent a response on March 3 stating all requests would be filled by March 6. The township didn’t fill those requests, Scheeler says, and ultimately stopped responding. According to Scheeler, he threatened to file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC), and that didn’t “compel action, or even a reply.”

Loeser served as part-time acting clerk for the township while simultaneously serving as part-time deputy clerk in Absecon from Feb. 14 until last Tuesday, March 13, when Thalia C. Kay .

Loeser took over after former Clerk Kimberley Hodsdon to reprise her previous role as human resources director in Wildwood. Hosdson was clerk from Oct. 4, 2011 to Jan. 31, 2012, taking over after Lisa Tilton with the township to resign as clerk after working in the township for over 10 years.

Tilton has since filed two separate against the township.

Doherty also represents Martin O’Boyle, who filed a lawsuit in September against the township and the acting clerk at the time, Carol Hackney, of violating OPRA, the Common Law Right of Access and violation of the New Jersey Civil Rights Act. O’Boyle disputed the redaction of documents related to requests concerning the conclusion of Tilton’s employment with the township.

According to the complaint, Scheeler filed a request he describes as “routine and innocuous” on Feb. 6, seeking payroll and time sheet information for specific township employees. He also filed requests on Feb. 9, 13 and 14, seeking a total of 11 items he believed should be available for “immediate access.”

Scheeler said certain items have been fulfilled and certain requests have been withdrawn, but the township still has not fully fulfilled the requests filed.

Scheeler seeks release of the documents in his complaint, stating in his conclusion:

“Whether the defendants’ intention was to delay access or its political issues have cascaded through its personnel is no longer of any moment. Defendants are not even within shouting distance of a proper response time and they do not even respond under the threat of legal action.”

This is not the first complaint Scheeler has filed against the township. In December, the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) said it would investigate a complaint filed by Scheeler against Hodsdon, stating Hodsdon didn’t fulfill one of his requests in a timely manner.

This prompted Purdy to state he would ask the state to come “come in and all operations of the township,” although it’s unclear what became of that request.