When Is a Public Official Entitled to Prevailing Party Attorneys’ Fee Reimbursement in Public Records Act Cases? Part II

In part one, I talked about how a Florida public official might use the law to get money for hiring a private lawyer to defend against a Florida Public Records Act lawsuit. Now, in part two, I’m going to talk about another way they might be able to do that. If a public official is wrongly accused of something related to their job, they may be able to get their legal fees paid for by the public if they successfully defend themselves and the accusation was related to their job and served a public purpose. This is a common law rule, not a specific law. The official has to “prevail” in the case to get their legal fees paid for. There have only been a few cases where public officials have gotten their legal fees paid for under this rule. In some court cases, public officials were able to get their legal fees paid by the government because they were doing their job as a public official. But they only got reimbursed if they won the case. If they didn’t win, they had to pay their own legal fees. Basically, just because a case is dismissed doesn’t necessarily mean the defendant can get their legal fees paid for. The courts look at the reasons for the dismissal and whether the defendant actually won the case. Also, government agencies can’t pay for legal fees based on common law, and they can’t just give money based on fairness. There are rules and procedures that have to be followed. In the case of Chavez v. City of Tampa, the court reversed a decision to award attorneys’ fees to a city council member who successfully defended charges of unethical conduct. The court said that the city didn’t have the authority to make such an award because the statute only allows for fee awards in a court of law for damages or injury. This means that elected and appointed officials in Florida need to be careful about settling lawsuits too quickly, or they may not be able to get reimbursed for their legal defense. The article discusses when public officials may be reimbursed for their legal fees when they defend themselves in lawsuits related to their official duties. It cites several court cases and legal principles to support its argument. It is written by a lawyer who specializes in city, county, and local government law and is submitted on behalf of a section of the Florida Bar.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/when-is-a-public-official-entitled-to-prevailing-party-attorneys-fee-reimbursement-in-public-records-act-cases-part-ii/