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Case: 25CH1:20-cv-00403 Document #: 6 Filed: 05/12/2020 Page 1 of 4

IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF HINDS COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI


FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT

IN RE: PETITION OF MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY


EDUCATION CENTER FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER
PREVENTING DISCLOSURE OF DOCUMENTS

CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:20-cv-00403

THE CLARION-LEDGER’S MOTION TO INTERVENE

Gannett River States Publishing Corp. d/b/a The Clarion-Ledger (“The Clarion-Ledger”)

moves the Court to intervene in this action as of right pursuant to Rule 24(a)(2) of the

Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. The Clarion-Ledger seeks to intervene in order to oppose

the relief sought by Petitioner Mississippi Community Education Center (“MCEC”) and to

pursue the production of certain documents from the Mississippi Department of Human Services

(“MDHS”) pursuant to the Mississippi Public Records Act, MISS. CODE ANN. § 25-61-1, et seq.

In support of this motion, The Clarion-Ledger represents the following:

1. Gannett River States Publishing Corp. is an Arkansas corporation with its

principal place of business in McLean, Virginia. The Clarion-Ledger is a trusted source for news

and information with the largest daily newspaper circulation in the State of Mississippi, as well

as an on-line news website.

2. This action was commenced by Petitioner MCEC which filed a Petition for

Protective Order on April 22, 2020, seeking an order prohibiting MDHS from producing certain

documents in response to public records requests submitted by The Clarion-Ledger.

3. On or about March 11, 2020, Clarion-Ledger reporter Giacomo Bologna

submitted two public records requests to MDHS (Dkt. #2, Ex. A), seeking copies of: (1) any
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Requests for Proposals (“RFP”) responses received by MDHS from MCEC or Nancy New from

July 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019; and (2) all emails between amcgrew@mscec.org (Anne

McGrew) and any employee of MDHS from January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2020.

4. No documents have been produced in response to the first request related to RFP

responses, even though there are some pages of the RFP responses that are not covered by

MCEC’s Petition for Protective Order.

5. In its Petition, MCEC identified portions of three proposals it submitted to

MDHS, all related to the federal welfare Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program

(“TANF”), and which MCEC claimed to be exempt from production under the Mississippi

Public Records Act.

6. The public records requests are part of The Clarion-Ledger’s ongoing coverage of

the alleged improper use of federal TANF funds by MDHS, MCEC and others, which, on May 4,

2020, Mississippi State Auditor Shad White called “the most egregious misspending my staff has

seen in their careers at the Office of State Auditor.” Exs. A (Clarion-Ledger article dated May 4,

2020) & B (May 4, 2020 Statement of State Auditor Shad White).

7. Petitioner has interposed objection to MDHS’s production of approximately 560

pages of their Proposals it seeks to protect from public scrutiny in only the barest of terms (Dkt.

# 2, pp. 4-6), and makes no attempt to explain why the documents should be exempt from

production under the Public Records Act beyond the conclusory allegation that, “The Proposals

contain information that constitute confidential and financial information of a proprietary nature

and trade secret information.” (Dkt. # 2, p. 3).

8. With respect to The Clarion-Ledger’s second public records request related to the

McGrew-MDHS emails, prior to the filing of the Petition for Protective Order, MDHS made

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two productions of emails and attachments, but some of these documents were redacted. The

Clarion-Ledger does not know whether all responsive emails have been produced. See Ex. C

(April 28, 2020 “closing letter” from MDHS to The Clarion-Ledger).

9. Notably, the Petition does not disclose the number of pages of emails it seeks to

shield from public scrutiny, nor does it identify any specific email by sender, recipient, date, time

or subject matter, and it advances no argument as to why any of these public records should be

exempted from production under the Mississippi Public Records Act. Rather, MCEC seeks to

block responsive emails and their attachments on the speculative grounds that, “the contents …

may also include portions of the Proposals that include trade secrets and/or confidential

commercial and financial information of a proprietary nature …” (Dkt. # 2, p. 1 (emphasis

added)).

10. Intervention of right should be permitted when an applicant such as The Clarion-

Ledger “claims an interest relating to the property or transaction which is subject to the action

and [it] is so situated that the disposition of the action may as a practical matter impair or impede

[its] ability to protect that interest, unless the applicant’s interest is adequately represented by

existing parties.” MISS. R. CIV. P. 24(a)(2).

11. Here, The Clarion-Ledger’s interest in the disclosure of public records of the

Mississippi Department of Human Services cannot and will not be protected by the existing party

to this action, as the interests of Petitioner and the newspaper are directly adverse. Moreover,

The Clarion-Ledger’s right of access under the Mississippi Public Records Act will be impaired

if it is not allowed to intervene in the case to oppose the relief sought by Petitioner and to pursue

production by MDHS of documents which have not been shown to be exempt from the Act.

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12. A copy of The Clarion-Ledger’s Complaint-in-Intervention setting forth more

particularly the claims for which intervention is sought is attached hereto as Exhibit D, as

required by MISS. R. CIV. P. 24(c).

13. Undersigned counsel has conferred with counsel for the Petitioner and represents

to the Court that Petitioner does not object to the proposed intervention.

For the foregoing reasons, The Clarion-Ledger requests the Court to permit it to intervene

of right in this action and thereafter to file its Complaint-in-Intervention.

This 12th day of May, 2020.

Respectfully submitted,

GANNETT RIVER STATES PUBLISHING


CORP. D/B/A THE CLARION-LEDGER

BY: s/John P. Sneed


JOHN P. SNEED (MSB #7652)
CHARLES E. COWAN (MSB #104478)
WISE CARTER CHILD & CARAWAY, P.A.
Post Office Box 651
Jackson, Mississippi 39205-0651
Telephone: 601-968-5534
Fax: 601-944-7738
jps@wisecarter.com
cec@wisecarter.com

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, John P. Sneed, hereby certify that I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of
Court using the CM/ECF system which will automatically send email notification to all counsel
of record.

This the 12th day of May, 2020.

s/John P. Sneed
JOHN P. SNEED

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