Wood v. Battle Ground School District

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Wood vs. Battle Ground School District Number: 107 Wn. App. 550 Year: 2001 State: Washington Other lawsuits in Washington Other lawsuits in 2001 Precedents include: 1.) That a series of emails can constitute a closed meeting. 2.) That members-elect of a public body are subject to open records law.

Contents 1 Important precedents 2 Background 3 Supporters of the FOIA request 4 Criticisms of the FOIA request 5 Ruling of the court 5.1 Members-elect 5.2 Meeting by e-mail 6 Associated cases 7 See Also 8 External links 9 References

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Wood v. Battleground School District is a 2001 decision of the State of Washington Court of Appeals. The court ruled that e-mails between school board members to decide on the termination of an employee violated the intent of the state's Open Public Meetings Act.^[1]

[edit] Important precedents

The court determined that an exchange of emails can constitute a meeting and thus be subject to Washington's open meetings act. They further ruled that members-elect of a government body are still subject to open records law.

[edit] Background

Jennifer Wood, an employee of the Battle Ground public school district, was terminated from her employment. She filed a lawsuit which said that in its discussions about terminating her, the school district and others violated the state's public disclosure act and the Open Public Meetings Act. Wood also sought damages from the president of the school board for defamation.

The Superior Court for Clark County found in favor of the plaintiff on November 5, 1999 with respect to her claim about the school district violating the open meetings law. The plaintiff's claim that she had been defamed was dismissed.

The judgment in Wood's favor included a $200 statutory penalty against each individual defendant for two Open Public Meetings Act violations and an award of attorney fees.

This decision was appealed. The Court of Appeals vacated both parts of the lower court's determination and ordered it to re-consider.

[edit] Supporters of the FOIA request

[edit] Criticisms of the FOIA request

[edit] Ruling of the court

[edit] Members-elect

One issue in the case was whether members-elect of a school board are subject to the state's open meetings law. The lower court, in finding in favor of the plaintiff, assumed that members-elect are subject to the law. The Court of Appeals ruled against this concept, saying it is up to the legislature to determine whether or not people who have been elected to a position but who have not yet been sworn-in are subject to open disclosure laws.

[edit] Meeting by e-mail

The appellate court ruled that the exchange of e-mails can constitute a "meeting."

[edit] Associated cases

[edit] See Also

• Washington Public Records Act

[edit] External links

• Ruling of the Court

[edit] References

1. ↑ Greg's View: "Serial meetings are illegal", November 21, 2008

v • d • e Washington sunshine lawsuits Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound v. City of Des Moines • Soter v. Cowles Publishing • Wood v. Battle Ground School District • Yousoufian v. Office of Ron Sims • Harold Carey v. Mason County Washington Public Records Act