Court orders HMB to release some documents to Cypress Cove

Thursday, a superior court judge ordered the city of Half Moon Bay to release some of the documents demanded by the Cypress Cove Townhomes Association.

In the city’s press release, City Attorney Adam Lindgren maintains that the court erred in its application of attorney-client privilege.  According to Lindgren, the most significant document in the case, a partially redacted (blacked-out) version of the property due diligence report, could have been released sooner had the suit not been filed.  The law says that if documents are released after a suit is filed that the defendant must pay the plaintiff’s attorney costs.

The City Council will meet in closed session at 7:00pm Tuesday before the regular City Council meeting to decide whether it will release the documents or appeal the Court’s decision.

Click "read more" to see the city’s press release.

City of Half Moon Bay
For Immediate Release
Contact City Attorney Adam Lindgren (510) 808-2000

On August 11, Judge John Runde of the San Mateo Superior Court issued an oral ruling in the matter of Cypress Cove Townhomes Association v. City of Half Moon Bay.  The judge ordered the City to release some of the public records it had withheld from disclosure to the plaintiffs.

Adam Lindgren, City Attorney for Half Moon Bay said "I appreciate the work of Judge Runde, but I respectfully disagree with the Court’s ruling concerning the release of the documents.  The City, like everyone else, is entitled to get confidential advice from its attorneys.  I think the Court erred in its application of the attorney-client privilege, work-product privilege, and other aspects of this case.  The Court only ordered release of a small portion of the privileged documents the City withheld.  More importantly, the Court validated the City’s good faith efforts during this process.  The Court expressly found that the City ‘substantially complied’ with its duties under the California Public Records Act, and while the Court disagreed with some of the City’s decisions to withhold, none were unreasonable.”

Despite the attempts of the plaintiff’s attorney to mischaracterize the City as a secretive organization, the Court repeatedly stated that the City did not act in bad faith and that, “the only credible evidence was that the City wasn’t trying to hide anything.”

"The City has repeatedly demonstrated its intent to fully involve the public in the planning process for this park.  Despite these efforts, however, there has been some speculation that the City has undertaken secret plans to develop the park and hidden away detailed designs and studies.  That is not the case, and the Court’s findings confirm that it is not the case.” City Manager Debra Ryan said.

City Attorney Lindgren said “It is ironic that the litigation probably prevented the City from releasing the most significant document in this case sooner.  Before Cypress Cove filed the law suit, the City had prepared the exact same partially redacted (blacked-out) version of the property due diligence report ordered released by the Court.  Although the City believes that the entire document was not required to be released because it was attorney-client and work-product privilege, the City wanted to go above and beyond its obligations to be open, by releasing the redacted version of the document.  The City was in the process of getting an independent attorney’s opinion on the disclosure of the report when Cypress Cove filed the lawsuit.  The lawsuit forced the City to withhold the entire report, rather than releasing the partially redacted version.  By jumping the gun and filing the lawsuit, rather than working with the City, the plaintiff’s attorney essentially forced the City to be more cautious.  Under the Public Records Act, if further documents are released after a lawsuit is filed, the requesting party can ask the Court to order that the City pay attorneys fees.”

Contrary to the Court’s decision, the independent outside counsel hired by the City, Michael Jenkins, had advised the City that the entire due diligence report was subject to the attorney-client privilege and not required to be disclosed.  Mr. Jenkins is a longtime, highly respected municipal law attorney from Southern California and a former president of the City Attorneys Department of the League of California Cities.

Most of the documents ordered released by the Court have never been seen by the Council because they represent groundwork by the senior staff, consultants, and the City Attorney for material presented to the Council.  This is common for this Council and other Councils in California.

The City Council will meet in closed session at the Half Moon Bay Community Center at 7:00 p.m. August 16 before the regular City Council meeting to decide whether it will release the documents or appeal the Court’s decision.