"An Oldham County sportsman has filed a lawsuit in Franklin Circuit Court seeking the removal of Rich Storm as commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and voiding his contract" based on violations of the open meetings law per KRS 61.848(5).

That statute provides, "Any rule, resolution, regulation, ordinance, or other formal action of a public agency without substantial compliance with the requirements of KRS 61.810, 61.815, 61.820, and KRS 61.823 shall be voidable by a court of competent jurisdiction."

In Carter v Smith, the Kentucky Supreme Court voided a contract between a school district and a retired superintendent based on violation of KRS 61.810 and unauthorized closed session discussions.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ky-supreme-court/1607534.html

"Larry Richards is asking the court to find that the commission violated the Kentucky Open Meetings Act 'in partaking in closed meetings for unauthorized purposes and without sufficient public notice' and fine it $100 for each violation" per KRS 61.848(6).

That statute states that "any person who prevails against any agency in any action in the courts regarding a violation of KRS 61.805 to 61.850, where the violation is found to be willful, may be awarded costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred in connection with the legal action. In addition, it shall be within the discretion of the court to award the person an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) for each instance in which the court finds a violation. Attorneys' fees, costs, and awards under this subsection shall be paid by the agency responsible for the violation."

The open meetings dispute, and the "split decision" that necessitated Richards' appeal, was the subject of an earlier Kentucky Open Government Coalition post.

https://www.facebook.com/419650175248377/posts/922280804985309/?d=n

It should also be noted that another Kentucky sportsman, Brian Mackey, is awaiting an open records decision from the Kentucky Attorney General in a dispute concerning access to public records documenting discussions of public business on private devices/accounts by Fish and Wildlife commissioners.

The open records decision is expected on July 19.

A third sportsman, Jimmy Cantrell, was compelled to file an open records appeal to the Attorney General to secure access to other Department of Fish and Wildlife records.

https://ag.ky.gov/Priorities/Government-Transparency/orom/2021/21-ORD-0…