Judge rules City of Fort Smith violated Freedom of Information Act following failed hire
FORT SMITH, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A Sebastian County judge has ruled that the City of Fort Smith and its acting city administrator violated the state's Freedom of Information Act.
Fort Smith-based attorneys Joey McCutchen and Stephen Napurano filed the lawsuit against the city on May 2 after claiming Fort Smith failed to provide all public records related to the hiring of Rebecca Cowan as internal auditor.
Cowan was unanimously approved by the Board of Directors on April 22, but the offer was rescinded after it was revealed she had a pending felony stalking charge.
The City of Fort Smith told Talk Business & Politics, 'Human Resources produced the background check and relayed the information to Administration per City protocol.'
Acting City Administrator Jeff Dingman, in an email to McCutchen, said, 'The background check information was delivered in hard copy. That record no longer exists. The Chief Human Resources Officer does not have a copy of the packet that was delivered. There is no hard copy.'
An email from Dingman, not included in the city's FOIA response, was later obtained directly from a board member, according to the lawsuit. This email stated that Dingman 'did not believe a background check was performed.'
The lawsuit also alleged the city failed to respond in a timely manner and may have withheld or destroyed public records.
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On June 3, the judge assigned to the lawsuit ruled in favor of McCutchen and Napurano during a hearing.
An order, officially filed on June 5, said 'The Defendants' failure to timely respond, thefailure to provide clearly responsive records, the absence of any valid extension or waiver, and the troubling lack of transparency regarding the missing background check' were reasons as to why the city was ruled to have violated the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
A spokesperson from the City of Fort Smith gave the following statement to KNWA/FOX24 in response to the judge's ruling:
'While the City of Fort Smith provided all relevant documents in response to Mr. McCutchen's FOIA request, we did not meet the three-business-day deadline outlined in the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act and missed the deadline by two business days. The City remains committed to operating with transparency and integrity in all public records processes.'
The ruling said the city will be responsible for paying attorney fees to McCutchen and Napurano.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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