Pulaski County court dismisses FOIA lawsuit filed against Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A lawsuit against Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has ended without a trial or judgment.
Attorney-blogger Matt Campbell’s lawsuit was intended to force the governor’s office to disclose records related to the purchase of a $19,000 podium and First Gentleman Bryan Sanders’s travel records. It was dismissed on procedural grounds because Sanders had not been served within the 120-day deadline after the suit was filed.
Settlement reached in Little Rock Freedom of Information Act lawsuit
Campbell had asked the governor’s office for the records but was told they were not available under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act.
Records show Campbell asked the court for an extension of service time since he had started a new job and he and his family came down with the flu. That extension, filed at the 120-day mark on Feb. 21, was not granted.
The attorney general’s office filed on May 6 that the case should be dismissed, which today’s ruling upheld.
Audit of Arkansas $19,000 lectern purchase reveals technical errors in paperwork, compliance
Attorney General Tim Griffin said the dismissal was the correct ruling.
“This was the proper outcome for this baseless case after Mr. Campbell failed to serve process within 120 days of filing the complaint—the second time this year he has had a case dismissed for failure to serve process,” Griffin said. “It’s unfortunate that cases like this waste taxpayer dollars and clog up our judicial system.”
The suit was dismissed “without prejudice” by Circuit Judge LaTonya Austin, meaning it can be re-filed at a later time if Campbell chooses to do so.
Campbell said he would be refiling the case in the next seven days.
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