A lawyer who lost his job with Lane County has been awarded attorney's fees after winning a public records lawsuit. Lane County Circuit Judge Jody Mooney ruled today Wednesday that the county must pay Marc Kardell $14 thousand.
Marc Kardell was successful in October in a suit against Lane County. Judge Mooney found the county violated state public records laws by delaying it's response to Kardell's request by 3 months. Kardell spoke outside the courthouse following the judge's decision to award attorney's fees.
Kardell: "Well I was certainly happy that the judge ruled that what the county had done in regards to my public records request was not legal and not reasonable and that I was entitled to attorney fees."
Kardell was laid off from his job as assistant county council and told that he would be recalled once the budget allowed. Instead the county hired someone else. Kardell says he originally made a public records request to find out why he wasn’t re-hired. He has filed a federal lawsuit against the county for wrongfully terminating his job. Kardell was laid off during the tenure of now-fired County Administrator Liane Richardson.