RAYTOWN, Mo. (AP) - A judge has ordered a Kansas City suburb to pay $42,000 in legal fees for an open records request violation.
The Kansas City Star reports that at issue was the city of Raytown’s denial of a request for information about the safety of an intersection where 69-year-old Cecile Leggio was killed in a 2016 traffic wreck. Her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit, which is ongoing.
Jackson County Circuit Court Judge S. Margene Burnett says the city clerk had adopted a policy of refusing any documents to anyone who filed a claim against the city. The judge called it a “knowing and purposeful violation of Missouri Sunshine Law” and said the city tried to use the law “as shield to hide behind.”
The city’s attorney says the city is appealing.
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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com
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