Litigant says he can prove the bureaucrat was doing other things when supposedly compiling documents
An Athens, Tennessee, man has filed suit against the city of Athens and city manager C. Seth Sumner alleging violations of state open records laws and fraud in misrepresenting charges for copies of public records that totaled almost $1,000.
Larry Eaton, an Athens business owner and resident, is asking the court for an injunction against the city preventing violations of the Open Meetings Act, a year of court oversight with required semiannual compliance reports on open meetings, the adoption of policies for citizens' inspection and copying of records, unspecified damages, punitive damages and court costs, according to documents filed March 24 in McMinn County Chancery Court.
The suit isn't about money, according to Eaton.
Eaton said city officials didn't properly keep City Council meeting minutes and Sumner retaliated against him for his public records requests by charging him outrageous rates and oddly watermarking documents he requested when he contends public records requested by most others weren't getting the same treatment. He contends in the suit the watermarking was intended to harass and intimidate him.
"I don't care about anything but making sure that other citizens do not have to go through what I've had to go through with my government by asking questions," Eaton said Wednesday in a telephone interview.
Matthew C. Rogers, one of Eaton's attorneys in the suit,...
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