Court orders legal fees to be paid in Open Meetings Act case
The city of Statesboro must pay $4,250 in attorneys fees to citizens who sued the city, its mayor and council members for violating the Open Meetings Act, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday.
The citizens filed suit after discovering the mayor and council in April 2010 had met at the Gateway Pond House, not council chambers, to discuss the budget. The state's high court rejected the city's argument that it was not liable to pay the citizens' legal bills, saying the Open Meetings Act "explicitly authorizes the assessment of attorneys' fees."
About the Author
Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
