The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in Libertarians for Transparent Government v. Cumberland County. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is “Is a settlement agreement between a county government and a former employee resolving an internal disciplinary action against the employee a government record under section 10 of the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10? [“OPRA”]”
In a published opinion, reported at 465 N.J. Super. 11 (App. Div. 2020), and discussed here, a three-judge panel of the Appellate Division held that OPRA did not require disclosure of the agreement. But the panel remanded the case to the Law Division for consideration of whether the common law called for disclosure of the agreement. The Supreme Court will now weigh in on those issues.