CJ Griffin Wins OPRA Lawsuit on Behalf of TAPinto Newark Seeking Settlement Agreement from Newark Board of Education

CJ Griffin, partner and director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C., was featured in a TAPinto Newark article titled “Judge Rules in TAPinto Newark OPRA Suit, Orders District to ‘Remove all Redactions’.” The article discusses how Griffin successfully represented Skyway Publishing, the publisher of TAPinto Newark, in an OPRA lawsuit challenging redactions that the Newark Public Schools made to a settlement agreement it entered into with a private real estate developer. A Superior Court judge ruled that the redactions were unlawful and gave the school system 20 days to remove all redactions, as well as to pay the Skyway Publishing’s legal fees.

“Settlement agreements are undeniably public records,” said CJ Griffin. “That was decided many years ago by the Supreme Court. The justifications that NBOE gave to withhold this agreement just didn’t hold up, and we’re glad the judge rejected those frivolous arguments and has ordered disclosure.”

“The public deserves to see the terms of this deal and decide whether it is a good deal or not, especially given how much money NBOE has spent on the litigation. It’s a shame it took this protracted litigation to pry a settlement agreement out of NBOE’s hands,” Griffin said.

To read the full article, click here.

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