Attorneys in Cleveland County who’ve accused the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority of “acting in bad faith” will probably be allowed to depose two company staffers, a choose dominated Friday.
Judge Timothy Olsen granted the group’s request to depose Jenny Johnson and Todd Gore, two OTA staffers who posted two OTA Commission assembly agendas that at the moment are on the middle of a transparency lawsuit.
“The OTA’s staff clearly intended to, and did, alter the documents to sabotage Plaintiffs’ (Open Meeting Act) challenge,” attorneys representing a gaggle of greater than 240 Cleveland County residents wrote in a current submitting.
Attorney Richard Labarthe is a lead lawyer for the group, which is accusing the OTA of willfully altering the agendas of the January and February 2022 conferences with the intention to seem extra clear.
“The OTA’s staff clearly intended to, and did, alter the documents to sabotage Plaintiffs’ (Open Meeting Act) challenge,” the group alleged in a current submitting.
The OTA denies any substantial change occurred and known as the allegation “manufactured” in courtroom filings.
“The latest unfounded allegations are false and factually inaccurate,” an OTA spokesperson mentioned in an announcement to News 9. The claims “will be proven to be completely without merit,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Officials’ signatures added to the agendas after every assembly had been the one adjustments to the paperwork, the OTA argued in a courtroom submitting.
The January and February agendas presently obtainable on the OTA web site are 47 and 52 pages, respectively. They embody descriptions of ACCESS Oklahoma tasks together with the proposed South Extension turnpike by means of Cleveland County. The South Extension has drawn the ire of quite a few householders in Eastern Norman.
Related: Norman Photographer Documents Human Cost Of Turnpike Expansion
The group claims shorter variations of every agenda, solely 5 pages every, had been obtainable to the general public previous to the assembly. These shorter variations, that are accessible through an web archive, don’t embody the identical description of ACCESS Oklahoma tasks.
Labarthe mentioned they imagine the agendas had been modified after the lawsuit was filed in May.
“In total, it’s close to 100 extra pages of matter that (the OTA has) presented as if they were in the agenda that we contend were not in the agenda,” Labarthe mentioned.
Labarthe and different attorneys have argued the change violates state transparency legal guidelines. The group requested Judge Olsen to rule in opposition to the OTA by successfully nullifying the actions taken by the OTA board in the course of the January and February conferences.
“The Turnpike Authority would not be precluded from starting over (on ACCESS Oklahoma), they could do that,” Labarthe mentioned. “But this time around, they would have to do so in a manner that would allow the public to know what they’re proposing.”
Labarthe mentioned they’re looking for permission to depose officers at Poe & Associates and Jessica Brown, the director of strategic communications for the Oklahoma Transportation Cabinet. Both have opposed and have requested the courtroom to disclaim the motions for depositions.
A listening to on the claims associated to the assembly agendas will seemingly happen in late November.
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