State Department of Social and Health Services officials said Friday the department would appeal a judgment of more than $600,000 stemming from a public-records case.
Pierce County Superior Court Judge Frederick Fleming levied a penalty of $287,800 against the agency and awarded more than $362,000 in fees and costs to the attorneys of a woman who sued DSHS for withholding records from her.
Fleming ruled in September that the agency illegally withheld the records from Amber Wright, a victim of sexual and physical abuse who intended to use the documents in a personal-injury lawsuit against DSHS.
Wright’s attorneys, David Moody and Martin McLean, wrote in a complaint filed in April 2010 that DSHS withheld important documents from Wright, including “written and recorded statements made by Amber detailing the horrific abuse she endured.”
Wright says in her lawsuit that the agency improperly returned her to her abuser when she was a girl. That lawsuit is pending in Pierce County Superior Court.
In a news release issued Friday, the agency said it did its best to comply with Wright’s records request – turning over more than 5,600 pages of records – and later relinquished three disputed records without a court order.
“The department did not intentionally withhold any records, and this lawsuit was not filed until after the three disputed records were provided,” the news release stated.
Agency officials called the judgment excessive and said Fleming awarded Wright’s attorneys fees that added up to $1,000 per hour.
“Regardless of the outcome of the state’s appeal, any award that results in reduced funding for services to children in order to pay attorney fee demands of up to $1,000 an hour would be an unreasonable and unacceptable use of scarce state resources,” the news release states.
The judgment is on hold while the agency appeals.
Adam Lynn: 253-597-8644
adam.lynn@thenewstribune.com
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