I have been involved with Right-to-Know litigation in the City of Nashua for four years now, and the experiences have left me with a story to tell. How does a citizen bring an RTK case to court? Realistically, you have to represent yourself and file pro se.
My first attorney-represented case was filed in February 2020. I won half of this case in 2022, but it remains under appeal before the Supreme Court. After the staggering costs of the first case, I began challenging the City as a pro se litigant.
All my work has been done through the Southern New Hampshire District Superior Court under two Judges. My experiences have been shaped by those who came before me and those who travelled through the Court system with their information requests during my time of records sought.
These cases are extraordinarily expensive to bring into Court; The process feeds money to the Attorneys and leaves the requester with all the risk and little reward. We should all be grateful for those who have challenged the system and failed.
I am aware of five Right-to-Know cases from Nashua, Milford, and Conway that have come before the Nashua Court since 2017. Judges look at these cases as burdensome and uninteresting. Understandably, criminal matters take priority. But given our political climate and the public’s general distrust of government, knowing what our government is up to has never been more important.
[1] The first Right-to-Know case I became aware of was Granite Green v City of Nashua. The City painted the Plaintiff as requesting hundreds of pages of records and wasting City time (the same tactic used by the City for my cases); the Judge agreed with the City and ruled against the Plaintiff, issuing an admonishment stating that he had a good mind to force the Plaintiffs to pay the legal bills of the City. I think the Judge got that wrong, and the manipulators of the records for RTK requests were and remain the City of Nashua attorneys.
The case cost hundreds of thousands to take into court. In 2021, these Plaintiffs reached out to me, recognizing that I had the same Judge, and warned me of the Judge’s intolerance for these cases and bias towards the City. I have come to know these folks as honorable Martyrs and Heroes whose loss helped pave the way for my victories.
[2] In Court, my 2020 Assessing records case was off to a rough start. For 15 months, I lost almost every motion. My Attorney and I were both frustrated because these were assessing records that were being requested, initially to understand our unfair property assessment. How could so much of this assessing information not be public? (I won my abatement through the State Appeals process.)
At that time, I was $100,000 into the case, and my Attorney, providing sound advice, recommended I quit. “The Judge doesn’t like you or your case.” I decided that, given information from the Granite Green folks, I was going to bring myself before the Judge as a pro se citizen and let him meet me. I knew I could speak to my case with passion, and I am a reasonable, logical, and credible woman. It worked.
Thankfully, the Judge became more interested and receptive, taking notes and asking questions. I started to win cases and claims. All in, it cost about $225,000 to bring the assessing Right-to-Know Petition through Superior Court. Contrary to the NH Bar Association creed, where “Civility and self-discipline prevent lawsuits from turning into combat and keep organized society from falling apart,” City Corporation Counsel turned my first RTK case into a war. It has continued through all cases.
[3] While my case was slugging through the system, another Nashua senior citizen brought a case before the same Judge. The simple, well-written request for emails was rejected by the city as overly broad and unreasonably described – a game the City was playing heavily to deny records to virtually all Nashua citizen requests. The Judge listened attentively and this hero lady won in the lower court and won the Supreme Court appeal for attorney’s fees. All in all, her case cost about $30K.
[4] In 2022, a Milford Plaintiff, a smart and strong witness, brought numerous challenges to the Court regarding non-public meetings, minutes, and Warrant Articles. The Judge, called from retirement, appeared to take no notes and several times requested, the Plaintiff’s attorney move it along. Four months later, the final ruling was issued, and the Plaintiff lost all claims. The case cost upwards of six figures. This is another Hero Challenger.
All in all, these four represented cases cost the Plaintiffs over $600,000. I won 5 out of 9 claims, and the Nashua Senior won her claim. All other challenges were lost. To do these challenges as a citizen, you have to file pro se and it is a difficult and unwelcoming process. The Judicial/legal system has an opportunity to create better pathways and work more productively with those seeking records. Why don’t they do this?
To those who paved the way, thank you. You are my Heroes.
