The office of Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel has turned over once-denied documents and paid $5,250 to settle a lawsuit claiming it acted illegally by failing to provide public records.
The agreement between the liberal-leaning political blog Plunderbund and Mandel’s office led last week to the dismissal of the blog’s filing that asked the Ohio Supreme Court to order the release of records.
Plunderbund claimed that, while other statewide officeholders complied with identical requests, Mandel’s office denied its bid for records as overly broad and voluminous, constituting illegal interference with the office’s work.
Joseph Mismas, Plunderbund’s managing editor, expressed satisfaction with the settlement.
“We understand not every Ohioan has the time, knowledge or resources to pursue legal remedies when confronted with a stubborn statewide officeholder, so we consider this a big win for little guys,” he said.
