White Dog Publishing, Inc. v. Culpeper County Board of Supervisors

Summary

The Supreme Court of Virginia held that the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors violated the Virginia Freedom of Information Act by conducting a closed meeting that did not fall within the statutory exemption for discussions concerning the award or formation of a public contract. The court also held that the publishers substantially prevailed and were entitled to attorney's fees and reasonable costs, reversing and remanding the circuit court's judgment.

Holdings

1. The public-contract exemption permits a closed meeting to discuss the award, formation, or modification of a public contract when open discussion would adversely affect the public body's bargaining position or negotiating strategy; it does not permit a closed meeting to discuss the application or enforcement of the terms or scope of an already awarded contract. Because the Board was discussing its strategy regarding the School Board rather than negotiating with the SHW vendor, the closed session was not exempt.
2. Because the publishers substantially prevailed on the merits of their FOIA claims, they were entitled to an award of attorney's fees and reasonable costs unless special circumstances made the award unjust. The asserted circumstances did not justify denying the award.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Board's October 5, 2004 closed session fell within the public-contract exemption in Code § 2.2-3711(A)(30) to FOIA's open-meeting requirement.
2. Whether the publishers were entitled to attorney's fees and reasonable costs under Code § 2.2-3713(D) after substantially prevailing on their FOIA claims.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded