Corrections Department open-records violations costly to taxpayers, suit alleges
Apr. 7—Open-records lawsuits against the New Mexico Corrections Department have cost the state at least $365,000 in settlement costs, a government transparency watchdog alleges in a new lawsuit.
The suit, filed this month by the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (NMFOG), asks a judge to compel the Corrections Department to reveal how much money the agency has paid for violations of the state Inspection of Public Records Act.
The 22-page lawsuit, filed Tuesday in 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, alleges the agency that operates the state's prisons has been the target of at least nine successful lawsuits since 2020 for failing to comply with the state's open-records law.
Brittany Roembach, a spokeswoman for NMCD, said in a text message Wednesday that the agency would have no comment about the suit.
The action stemmed from public records requests made by NMFOG in April 2024 seeking financial records showing settlement amounts and damage awards paid by the agency to resolve lawsuits filed under IPRA.
The request also sought payments made to lawyers who represent the Corrections Department to contest IPRA lawsuits. Both requests sought records from January 2021 through April 3, 2024.
David Pardo, NMCD's general counsel, responded in April 2024 that the agency has "no records" about settlement amounts or payments to outside law firms. Pardo referred FOG to another state agency.
The suit alleges that "it is inconceivable that (NMCD) would not possess these records. Records of settlement agreements, for example, are drafted and exchanged by the parties, and ultimately would have been approved" by NMCD.
The suit also alleges that NMCD has shown a pattern of failing to respond to public records requests, resulting in a series of costly lawsuits at the expense of taxpayers.
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed at least seven lawsuits against the Corrections Department in the past three years alleging IPRA violations, resulting in $200,000 in settlement costs, the suit said.
Among them, NMCD last year paid $38,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the ACLU seeking records regarding the use of inmate labor to manufacture products.
In another case, the agency paid $70,000 last year to settle a lawsuit filed by Disability Rights New Mexico seeking records about the confiscation of illegal drugs in New Mexico prisons, according to the FOG lawsuit.
The suit alleges that those actions "are the tip of the iceberg of the actual number of successful IPRA enforcement actions" against the New Mexico Corrections Department.
The suit seeks unspecified damages and asks a judge to issue an injunction to ensure NMCD's compliance with the open-records laws.
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