The town of North Bergen can’t get its legal fees reimbursed after a legal battle with a local resident who requested 175 town records.
Hudson County Superior Court Judge Maureen Mantineo ruled on July 27 that the township must pay legal fees for a suit they filed against resident Luis Gutierrez and attorney Mario Blanch. The two are part of the North Bergen Concerned Citizens group, who used the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA) to request paperwork from the town.
The pair filed 51 OPRA requests for 175 documents for paperwork related to the Board of Education, the Housing Authority, and other entities.
The township told them in April that it would cost $42,000 to have attorneys review the documents and then hand them over.
As a result, Gutierrez and Blanch filed a suit against the town, saying the fee was excessive. The town filed its own suit against the men, saying the men’s suit was frivolous.
ButMantineo ruled that the case was not frivolous and the township is not entitled to the money spent on legal fees.
The town’s response contradicted Blanch’s claim.
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“I respect her decision when she found that the township was not entitled to sanctions because this case was not a frivolous lawsuit,” said Blanch.
Blanch has been an outspoken opponent against the township’s administration and represented the “Citizens for Change” mayor/commissioner ticket in their unsuccessful election bid against Mayor Nicholas Sacco’s team last year.
“Filing these requests was nothing but a publicity stunt by a long-shot candidate desperate for attention,” said Swibinski.
Judge Mantineo had already dismissed Blanch and Gutierrez’s suit in June.
“I believe she was fair and very well versed on the law,” said Blanch. “My opinion doesn’t deviate just because something goes against me. I don’t operate that way.”
Blanch said that prior to filing for such a large OPRA request, he and Gutierrez made smaller ones that were rejected. He also said that he was willing to work with the town by giving them more time if needed and also to assist in narrowing down the documents. According to Blanch, when he filed the lawsuit, he wrote to the town’s attorney stating he was willing to resolve the matter, but received no response other than a motion stipulating the action was frivolous.
“It wasn’t that we sent out a large request all at once,” said Blanch. “What the township continuously does is reject the small requests. We created a large request because what we were trying to do is cover every single angle so they would have no possibility to reject it. They refused to sit with me. Instead what they chose to do was fight me in court.”
Blanch believes the township is purposely rejecting OPRA requests.
“They don’t want us uncovering the truth,” said Blanch.
The town’s response contradicted Blanch’s claim.
“North Bergen is committed to transparency and always answers OPRA requests in a timely fashion, but dealing with these excessive requests by Blanch would have cost taxpayers over $40,000,” said Swibinski.
So what is the next step?
Swibinski said the town will provide the records if Blanch is willing to pay.
“If Mr. Blanch compensated North Bergen taxpayers for the cost of responding to his excessive requests, then the township would provide him with the records,” he said.
Blanch did not return respond to a followup email by press time.
Vanessa Cruz can be reached at vcruz@hudsonreporter.com