LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A court ruling finds Metro Council members withheld emails and other documents from the public during the fight over a food truck ordinance in 2018 and 2019.
A Kentucky judge issued the ruling after a lawsuit by the Institute for Justice, a non-profit public interest law firm.
The Institute sued to get access to records that revealed former Metro Councilwoman Barbara Sexton-Smith was working on behalf of a restaurant owner to cripple food trucks.
The Institute also said she then leaned on former Metro Councilman Brandon Coan and current councilmen Pat Mulvihill and Scott Reed to introduce and help pass the ordinance.
The Institute then had to sue for the four to remove redactions from the records and to declare they willfully violate the state’s open records law.
The courts agreed and the four current and former council members have 30 days to turn over the unredacted records.
They also have to cover the court and attorney fees along with penalties for each record withheld.
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