The state of New Mexico agreed to pay $360,000 to cover legal fees the Santa Fe Reporter racked up fighting a yearslong battle over public records and access to former Gov. Susana Martinez.
The June settlement became public last week following expiration of a six-month confidentiality period imposed by state law.
The payout settled a lawsuit the weekly newspaper filed in 2013 accusing Martinez of violating the Inspection of Public Records Act by failing to produce public records and discriminating against the paper by cutting it off from access to basic information about her administration.
The late state District Judge Sarah Singleton in 2017 ruled in favor of the newspaper regarding its unsuccessful efforts to obtain emails and other public records, but denied the discrimination claim.
Martinez attorney Paul Kennedy had continued to fight payment of legal costs on the grounds that Singleton’s verdict was a split decision.
Reporter Editor and Publisher Julie Ann Grimm said Friday, “The upshot was the mess was kind of left in the lap” of current Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who ultimately agreed to the settlement.
“The newspaper and our legal team were really happy when we came to a settlement that allowed our legal team to get paid for their long hard work,” Grimm said, adding that access to public records continues to be “an ongoing battle in New Mexico at every level of government.”
“One of the great things about IPRA law that is good for the requester is that if you win a case, you get legal fees,” she said, adding that the paper’s experience shows it can take a long time.
Lujan Grisham spokesman Tripp Stelnicki said Friday the settlement amount represents “a couple of teacher’s salaries, or child care for some families.”
