The Office of Attorney General filed a complaint in Rhode Island Superior Court citing the Town of Warren for a knowing and willful violation of the Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act (APRA). Today's lawsuit is the 10th open government lawsuit filed by Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin since taking office in January 2011, as compared with only eight lawsuits filed under the two previous attorneys general combined.
On March 11, 2014, Joelle Sylvia, Esq., an attorney with the law firm Kelly & Mancini, made an APRA request to the Town of Warren seeking various documents maintained by the Town of Warren building official and Town Clerk. After initially extending the time to respond to the request, as allowed by APRA, the Town failed to provide a response and/or the requested documents.
Under the APRA, a public body has 10 business days to respond to a request for documents. R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-7. If the public body denies the request, a written response detailing the specific reasons for the denial shall be sent within those 10 business days to the person or entity making the request. R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-7(a). If no response is sent within 10 business days, the lack of response will be deemed a denial. R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-7(b). If, for good cause, the public body cannot comply with a records request within 10 business days, then the public body may extend the time period an additional 20 business days, for a total of 30 business days. R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 38-2-7(a) and 38-2-3(e).
After further investigation, the Office of Attorney General released a supplemental finding, Kelly & Mancini v. Town of Warren (PR 14-19B) wherein it determined that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that the Town of Warren knowingly and willfully violated the APRA.
"Failure to respond to a request within the timeframe dictated by APRA is simply not acceptable," said Attorney General Kilmartin. "Given the level of education and proactive outreach by my office, there is an expectation that public bodies will comply with our open government laws. As the arbiter and watchdog for open government, I will continue to hold public bodies accountable as the citizens expect and deserve."
The maximum penalty under the APRA is $2,000 for each knowing and willful violation.