Here’s how a judge ruled in a lawsuit over Horry County overcharging for FOIA requests
A judge determined Horry County was reasonable in its fee assessment for a Freedom of Information Act request at the center of a recent lawsuit.
Emily Christianson — a Cornell law student — sued the county in April over FOIA fees. She requested information related to 194 homicide cases from the Clerk of Court. The county provided a bill of more than $2,000 to fulfill the request.
Christianson called the fees “excessive” in her initial lawsuit.
During a court hearing, the county stated it pulled one file of the requested cases and it was over 100 pages, according to court records. The county argued it would have to search and retrieve information like that for the other 193 cases.
Christianson’s attorney said the request for information could be more specific and agreed to work with the county to narrow the request.
Last month, Horry County Judge Larry Hyman signed an order dismissing the case. He wrote in the order the fees the county assessed were “reasonable” based on a $25 per hour fee at 85 hours of work.
This story was originally published June 7, 2019 at 11:48 AM.
