Missouri Town Must Pay $600 Attorney Fees for Banning Resident From City Hall

Edgar Springs City Hall on November 2021. Google Maps/Screenshot

Phelps County Circuit Judge John Beger ruled that the city of Edgar Springs, Missouri, violated the Sunshine Law by barring residents’ constitutional right to access city hall for four years, without a chance to appeal the decision.

According to the ruling, the Phelps County city must pay plaintiff Rebecca Varney a fine of $600 plus legal costs, and uphold her right to visit city hall to inspect city records when it is open to the public.

Sunshine laws are federal regulations that require public disclosure of government agency meetings and records. They require specific businesses and government agencies to maintain transparency and disclose their activities to the public.

Beger, the judge for the 25^th Judicial Circuit Court in Missouri, granted Varney summary judgment on four of the nine specific allegations in the lawsuit she filed in November 2020. Beger also found three separate violations of open records laws.

Varney’s legal dispute with Edgar Springs dates back to early 2018, when she was issued a traffic citation and began investigating city revenue from similar violations. Her petition drive led to a state audit, which found numerous deficiencies in Sunshine Law violations and financial administration.

Varney asked only for a $100 penalty on each Sunshine Law violation, knowing her small city of 200 people did not have much in terms of resources. Upon noting that request, Beger decided that this was insufficient.

“(T)he court, in its discretion considers a $100 penalty per occurrence to be inadequate and, (on its own motion) sets the penalty at $300 per occurrence.” Berger wrote. Varney’s attorney, Director of Litigation and co-founder of the Freedom Center of Missouri (FCMo) Dave Roland, said that he was thrilled with the judgment and that he had sent an email to the city’s attorney asking for possible trial dates for the remaining counts.

“The city could just accept that it is in the wrong, and that would stop the litigation,” Roland told the Missouri Independent. “It would end the bleeding for the taxpayers. The city should have known that what it did was wrong years ago.”

Roland’s group is a not-for-profit and non-partisan organization that represents individuals who would otherwise not be able to afford an attorney for Sunshine Law cases.

“Everything we do is aimed first at helping citizens and those in positions of power to understand and respect the importance of individual liberty,” states the FCMo website, “and second at persuading courts to enforce our constitutional protections for the freedoms enumerated in the U.S. and Missouri Constitutions.”

The remaining two counts allege Varney’s First Amendment and equal protection rights were violated, while the other three charge the city with additional Sunshine Law violations. These include meetings being held without notice and not allowing Varney to attend a November 2019 meeting.