Diego Ibarguen, Esq. v. Brockton, City of - Law Department (SPR 20161116)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A Williams Supervisor of Records December 22, 2016 SPR16/1116 Philip C. Nessralla, Jr., Esq. City of Brockton - City Solicitor Brockton City Hall - Law Department 45 School Street Brockton, MA 02301 Dear Attorney N essralla: I have received the petition of Diego Ibarguen, Esq. of Hearst Corporation, on behalf of his client, Kathy Curran, an investigative reporter for WCVB Channel 5 Boston, appealing the non-response of the City of Brockton-City Solicitor (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § lO(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Curran requested a copy of: 1. Agreements (contracts) for legal services between private law firms or attorneys and the City from January 1, 2015 through June 20, 2016 2. Itemized invoices for legal services from private law firms or attorneys representing the City of Brockton officials and employees from January 1, 2015 through June 20, 2016. Prior appeal The requested records were the subject of a prior appeal in which the City denied the request in its entirety pursuant to the common law attorney client privilege. See SPRl 6/700 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (September 16, 2016). The City failed to meet its statutory and regulatory obligation under the Public Records Law, by not supporting with specificity its claim to withhold the records. An attorney on my staff had previously explained to you in a telephone conversation in September 2016, the City cannot withhold the records in their entirety, but should instead redact exempt material from the records. Along with the redacted records, City must also provide a detailed response explaining the redactions and providing specificity in support of exemptions claimed. At that time, the City requested an extension of ten (10) more calendar days beyond what was statutorily allowed, which was ten (10) calendar days, to provide the records with a One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre• pre@sec.state.ma.us

Philip Nessralla, Jr., Esq. SPR16/1l16 Page 2 December 22, 2016 detailed response. The City should have provided the records at the latest, October 6, 2016. Attorney Ibarguen follow-up with you via email on November 7 and November 22, and on both occasions, you promised Attorney Ibarguen that the records will be provided within a few days. To date, the City has neither provided Ms. Curran nor Attorney Ibarguen with the responsive records and a detailed response concerning any exemption claims. The City has failed to meet its statutory and regulatory obligation under the Public Records Law. Order Accordingly, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed with the proviso that the City provide Ms. Curran with the responsive records without delay, in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. If the City intends to withhold any content within the records, the City must provide Ms. Curran with a detailed written response or privilege log to accompany the records. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre(ii)sec.state.ma.us. The City should be advised that failure to comply with this order may result in Attorney Ibarguen filing a complaint with the Superior Court of the Commonwealth. See G. L. c. 66, § 1 O(b) (pursuing administrative appeal does not limit availability of applicable judicial remedies). L)} rs, cc: Diego Ibarguen, Esq. Kathy Curran