Description: Lawsuit to compel disclosure of Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General records regarding the Office's use of private funding to retain lawyers for energy-related litigation.
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Energy Policy Advocates v. Office of the Attorney General
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 02/27/2024 Memorandum of Decision Download Motion for fees and costs granted in part and denied in part. Massachusetts Court Ruled on Energy Policy Advocates’ Fees Request in Public Records Law Litigation Against Attorney General. A Massachusetts Superior Court granted in part and denied in part plaintiff Energy Policy Advocates’ motion for fees and costs incurred in the plaintiff’s litigation under the Public Records Law seeking disclosure of records concerning “a politically sensitive program whereby the [Office of the Attorney General] secured private funding through a university-affiliated foundation to retain lawyers specially assigned to energy-related litigation.” The court concluded the plaintiff was entitled to fees since “there can be no serious question” that the plaintiff was “substantially successful in security the vast majority of the public records it sought.” The court found that some requested fees were not supported with sufficient documentation, that hourly rates for three attorneys were excessive, and that the plaintiff could not be awarded fees for contested matters on which it did not prevail. The court rejected arguments that the plaintiff could not be awarded fees incurred prior to the filing of its complaint or fees for summary judgment motions that the court denied without prejudice on purely procedural grounds.