The Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC) announced Friday, March 13, that it was filing a lawsuit against the City of Hampton on behalf of Hampton Township residents Erik and Kathleen Porten alleging violations of the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) by the city and city officials.
The release states that the Portens requested public data about the potential development of a data center in Hampton and the allegations derive from those requests.
The lawsuit alleges that:
- The city did not search email accounts used by the mayor to conduct official business;
- There were delayed responses to their requests, some for months at a time;
- There were unexplained and unauthorized redactions;
- Unlawful fees were Issued for inspecting public data;
- The city had not updated its data access policy for nearly 20 years; and
- The Portens were required to inspect the records they requested standing at a service window rather than in a reasonable setting.
The suit also alleges that the city clerk did not have access to personal or non-city email contents where officials conducted official business, resulting in public records not being properly retained…