Riverdale asks court to clarify records access

By Tom Saul | Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Riverdale officials have asked for a court decision to block access to records they think are confidential and to deny access to other documents at a site away from City Hall sought by a critic who claims she has been harassed and threatened.

In one action filed March 19 in Scott County District Court, Steve Hunter, attorney for Riverdale, asked for a ruling denying access by Tammie Picton to records of communications and other documents between the city and Davenport lawyer Michael Motto. Motto represented Riverdale in an open meetings lawsuit that was settled last month.

In a request for a ruling that the records are confidential and an injunction barring Picton from viewing or copying them, Hunter claimed that they “represent and constitute the work product of an attorney” and can be kept secret under Iowa’s open records law. A Feb. 29 request by Picton for other records was not contested.

In a March 5 filing, Hunter asked for an order stating that Riverdale has no obligation to allow Picton to view records at a location other than City Hall. In a Feb. 21 letter, Picton asked to view records at Hunter’s office or somewhere besides City Hall after claiming that “I no longer feel safe entering City Hall alone.”

In her letter, Picton cited what she claimed were “false statements” on an unspecified blog, alleged untruths by a former mayor and alleged actions by Riverdale resident Larry Shoultz that she described as “hostile, perverse and frightening.”

In a March 4 complaint to the Scott County Sheriff’s Office claiming harassment, Picton said Shoultz made obscene gestures toward her, confronted her as she left a friend’s property in Riverdale and contacted the corporate office in Colorado of her employer to ask about public records requests in Riverdale.

Sheriff Dennis Conard said there was no evidence to back up Picton’s complaints, but he sent a deputy to talk to Shoultz about the matter and he considered it settled. According to a report, Shoultz denied harassing Picton but promised the deputy that he would ignore her if their paths crossed. Shoultz had no comment on the matter Wednesday.

The request to block access to the documents involving Motto and Riverdale represent a matter of “attorney-client privilege,” something that is exempt under Iowa’s open records law, Hunter said.

“We don’t believe it could or should be fulfilled,” he said.

Picton said her interpretation of the law is that the documents became public after the case was settled. Riverdale settled the case brought by resident Allen Diercks Feb. 28 by agreeing to pay $9,000. It admitted no wrongdoing and was not required to take any other action.

Picton has tangled with Riverdale since at least 2005 over public records issues when she and Diercks filed suit claiming they were repeatedly denied access to documents. That suit was settled in 2006 when a judged ordered the city to produce records sought by the pair and to pay their attorney’s fees and other costs.

Picton, Diercks and Marie Randol, another Riverdale resident, were honored last year by the Iowa Freedom of Information Council for fighting the city to gain access to information.

Tom Saul can be contacted at (563) 383-2453 or tsaul@qctimes.com.