Black v. Southwestern Water Conservation District

74 P.3d 462, 2003 Colo. App. LEXIS 698, 2003 WL 21026732
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 8, 2003
Docket02CA0468
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 74 P.3d 462 (Black v. Southwestern Water Conservation District) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Black v. Southwestern Water Conservation District, 74 P.3d 462, 2003 Colo. App. LEXIS 698, 2003 WL 21026732 (Colo. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge GRAHAM.

Plaintiffs, Taxpayers for the Animas River, Michael C. Black, James Decker, Susan L. Kimbler, and Jerry Swingle (collectively, Taxpayers), appeal the trial court's orders (1) determining that defendants, Southwestern Water Conservation District, Frank E. Maynes, Fred V. Kroeger, and Mary K. Fen-swick, custodians of records (collectively, SWCD), properly refused to allow inspection of certain 'documents on the basis of the attorney-client privilege; (2) finding that the research and retrieval fee charged by SWCD was an appropriate regulation under the Open Records Act, § 24-72-201, C.R.8.2002; and (3) denying Taxpayers' request for attorney fees and court costs. We affirm.

The Animas-La Plata Project (ALP) was initiated to provide water to members of the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Indian tribes, as well as to businesses and farms in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The ALP has been the subject of substantial public interest and environmental review since it was authorized in 1968.

SWCD organizes special assessment districts, such as the Animas-La Plata Water Conservancy District (ALPWCD), to secure funds, resources, and operating expertise to manage the water resources within their specific river basins. ALPWCD is responsible for building the ALP. ALPWCD and SWCD have spent significant amounts of money on lawyers and lobbying fees to promote the ALP.

The individual plaintiffs are members of Taxpayers for the Animas River, a local, nonprofit, unincorporated citizens group concerned with the expenditure of tax dollars related to the ALP. Pursuant to the Colorado Open Records Act, Taxpayers sought access to SWCD documents related to the ALP. Although SWCD provided access to certain nonprivileged public records located in its office, it denied the existence of other doeu-ments, including billing records from SWCD's attorneys.

Taxpayers filed an application under § 24-72-204(5), C.R.8.2002, for an order directing *466 SWCD to show cause why inspection of withheld information should not be permitted. Taxpayers asserted that relevant documents were kept in either SWCD's offices, the offices of SWCD's attorneys, or some other location within control of SWCD. The trial court treated the show cause application as a complaint.

SWCD moved for summary judgment, contending that it provided Taxpayers access to all relevant documents in its possession. Taxpayers responded by filing two C.R.CP. 56(h) motions, seeking a declaration that the following documents were public records: (1) a memo prepared by SWCD's attorney regarding SWCD's open records policy (G.C.memo); and (2) itemized billing records from SWCD's attorneys.

SWCD asserted that the G.C. memo and attorney bills were protected by the attorney-client privilege and that, in any event, because it does not maintain copies of attorney bills in its offices, Taxpayers had no right to inspect them.

The court denied SWCD's motion for summary judgment, noting that letters and billing statements from attorneys and lobbying firms indicated the existence of certain documents responsive to Taxpayer's requests and that "[alny lobbyists or law firm performing services on behalf of [SWCD] is undisputably an agent of [SWCD], and such records in their possession would be subject to disclosure." The trial court determined that SWCD's disclosure of all documents in its office did not satisfy the obligations under the Open Records Act and that SWCD raised a question of fact whether documents were in custody of an agent or employee.

As to Taxpayers' C.R.C.P. 56(h) motions, the trial court determined that attorney billing records were public records, but that the G.C. memo was protected by the attorney-client privilege, which was not waived. The trial court ordered SWCD to submit privilege logs identifying documents and the basis on which the privilege was being asserted.

SWCD produced a large number of documents determined by the court to be public records and provided Taxpayers with privilege logs. The letters and memoranda claimed by SWCD to be privileged included: (1) advice by attorneys regarding drafts of letters to government officials or third parties regarding SWCD's position on legislation, amendments, negotiations, and project revisions; (2) analysis of the effect of legislative drafts proposed by legislators, opponents, or project participants; (8) analysis and recommendations regarding proposed legislation; and (4) analysis of the effect of negotiations in requiring amended legislation and further environmental review.

Taxpayers filed a motion to compel under C.R.C.P. 87, contending, among other things, that SWCD was estopped from asserting a claim of privilege because it denied the existence of documents for five years instead of asserting a privilege claim; that the attorney-client privilege was not absolute and was outweighed by the public's right to know; and that lobbying activities by attorneys could not give rise to a claim of privilege.

The court determined that SWCD was not estopped from asserting the attorney-client privilege and that "the correspondence and memoranda, with limited exceptions, contain legal advice concerning the legislation, negotiations, litigation, and meetings which are the subject of the documents." The court noted that "SWCD had an expectation of privacy in such documents; almost without exception, they are clearly identified as privileged communications."

The trial court also found a common legal interest existed between certain proponents of the ALP, which entitled the proponents to exchange documents without waiving the attorney-client privilege.

The following documents were determined to be unprotected by the attorney-client privilege: (1) public documents attached to memos or correspondence; (2) transmittal letters, scheduling memos, and lists of meeting participants containing no discussion of legal issues; (8) letters to and from third parties, who shared a common legal interest, seeking to enlist their support for the ALP or advising them of SWCD's position; (4) a contract between SWCD and a lobbying firm and bills and activity reports from that lobbying firm; and (5) a letter from another lobbying firm, responding to audit issues.

*467 Taxpayers filed an amended and supplemental complaint, alleging that SWCD's responses to requests for documents under the Open Records Act were insufficient and not made in a reasonable time and that the research and retrieval fee was invalid under the Open Records Act.

The only issues presented at trial were whether SWCD's failure fully to comply with the mandates of the Open Records Act was arbitrary or capricious and whether SWCD was justified in charging a research and retrieval fee. Taxpayers stated that they had inspected all the records requested and that "there's nothing else to look at." The trial court affirmed its previous decisions regarding attorney-client privilege and found that SWCD's failure to comply fully with the requirements of the Open Records Act was not arbitrary or capricious and that the research and retrieval fee was a valid regulation under the Open Records Act.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
74 P.3d 462, 2003 Colo. App. LEXIS 698, 2003 WL 21026732, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/black-v-southwestern-water-conservation-district-coloctapp-2003.