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Contribute now to hold elected officials and government agencies accountable all year by Ken Martin © The Austin Bulldog 2017 Posted 1:45pm Friday December 29, 2017 If you...

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Bulldog Defends Zimmerman Lawsuit

 

Bulldog Defends Zimmerman Lawsuit

by Ken Martin
© The Austin Bulldog 2014
Posted Tuesday November 25, 2014 8:37pm

The Austin Bulldog has moved to dismiss District 6 candidate Don Zimmerman’s libel lawsuit under Texas’ anti-SLAPP law, the Texas Citizen Participation Act.

The Austin Bulldog argues that Zimmerman’s lawsuit should be promptly dismissed because The Austin Bulldog article and the accompanying e-mail News Alert were accurate reports of the abuse allegations made against him in the judicial proceedings that led to Zimmerman losing all legal right of custody or access to his only daughter.

A copy of The Austin Bulldog’s motion can be found here: Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Chapter 278, Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code (113 pages with Exhibits)

Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Chapter 278, Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code (22 pages without Exhibits)

If Zimmerman files a response to The Austin Bulldog’s motion, we will post it as well.

Zimmerman Sues Bulldog, Claims Defamation

Zimmerman Sues Bulldog, Claims Defamation

District 6 candidate Don Zimmerman claims
‘The Austin Bulldog’ report made false statements

by Ken Martin
© The Austin Bulldog 2014
Posted Wednesday October 15, 2014 10:59pm
Updated Thursday October 16, 2014 3pm (additions are underlined)

Don ZimmermanDistrict 6 candidate Donald Shelly “Don” Zimmerman has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Austin Bulldog, according to Courthouse News Service.

The Austin Bulldog has not been served and has not seen a copy of the lawsuit, styled Don Zimmerman v. Austin Investigative Reporting Project dba The Austin Bulldog; Ken Martin Cause No. D-1-GN-14-004290. The Austin Investigative Reporting Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit for investigative reporting in the public interest.

The Austin Bulldog obtained a copy of the lawsuit, which was filed electronically, this afternoon. A copy is linked below.

Bill Aleshire“Don Zimmerman’s attack on The Austin Bulldog for publishing truthful information from recent court records is an attack on journalism and the public’s right to know what happens in our courts,” said attorney Bill Aleshire of Riggs Aleshire & Ray PC. “The Austin Bulldog will vigorously defend its reporting and defend the right of journalists to report about court proceedings.”

Peter KennedyThe attorney representing The Austin Bulldog in this litigation is Peter Kennedy of Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody.

Bulldog Open Records Lawsuit Continues

Bulldog Open Records Lawsuit Continues

 Key issue is whether it is permissible to
redact officials’ private e-mail addresses

by Ken Martin
© The Austin Bulldog 2013
Posted Friday June 7, 2013 11:25am

How could you find out if Austin City Council members participated in an illegal quorum discussion about city business using their private e-mail accounts—a violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act?

The short answer is: you can’t.

Under the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA) you may request copies of e-mails exchanged by public officials about public business and you would be entitled to get them—including e-mails sent or received on private accounts (although in the past, the private-accounts issue has been a matter of legal contention).

But the e-mails you get from the public officials’ private e-mail accounts would not include their private e-mail addresses. Those addresses would be blacked out, redacted—to the point you would not be able to determine who sent or received a given e-mail, or whether a quorum of the governing board had illegally participated.

That was what The Austin Bulldog encountered in 2011, in response to a public information request for the e-mails about government business exchanged by the mayor and council members.

The Austin Bulldog eventually obtained copies of e-mails about government business exchanged by these elected officials using their private e-mail accounts—but only after filing a lawsuit to get them.

The Austin Bulldog’s Reporting Produces Results

The Austin Bulldog’s Reporting Produces Results

Our High-Impact Reporting Was Made
Possible by Strong Community Support

by Ken Martin
© The Austin Bulldog 2012
Posted Tuesday April 3, 2012, 2:05pm

Like baseball Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean said, “It ain't bragging if you done it.”

The Austin Bulldog has been able to hold elected officials and governmental bodies accountable, thanks in large part to nearly 200 people who have contributed money to finance our work over the past two years. Our investigative reporting has resulted in numerous reforms to provide more open and transparent government to the citizens of Austin and Travis County.

Individual donations in 2011 to support this important work totaled $33,045. The Kirk Mitchell Public Interest Investigative Reporting Fund donated $15,000 through December, for total funding of $48,045.

Our expenses totaled $39,242. For details on how we used this crucial funding, you can review our Profit and Loss Statement for 2011.

Marking our second anniversary is a good time to report to those whose financial backing made this work possible, as well as other readers, and take a quick look at some of our major accomplishments.

Brief overview of what public support made possible

The Austin Bulldog sues City of Austin, again

Posted Thursday, September 1, 2011 4:15pm
Updated 9:52pm September 1, 2011
Updated 10:55am September 2, 2011, to link Plaintiff's First Supplemental Petition

The Austin Bulldog Files Second Lawsuit
Against City of Austin for Withholding Records

City Not Responsive to Open Records Request
Concerning Water Treatment Plant Construction

by Ken Martin
© The Austin Bulldog 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today The Austin Bulldog filed its second lawsuit against the City of Austin in state district court for failure to promptly respond to The Austin Bulldog’s request filed under the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA), Chapter 552 of the Government Code.

The first lawsuit filed March 1, 2011, addressed similar issues. The Austin Bulldog today also filed a supplement to that lawsuit to address unresolved issues still pending and add related issues (more about that later).

The new lawsuit, The Austin Bulldog v. City of Austin, pertains to The Austin Bulldog’s open records request filed July 27 for copies of bids, contracts, scoring evaluations, correspondence, and invoices involving MWH Constructors, the firm hired by the city to oversee construction of Water Treatment Plant 4. Electronic copies of the records (pdf format) were requested on a computer disk.

Thirty-five days have elapsed since this request was filed and the city has provided none of the 4,700 pages of documents it estimated were responsive to this request.

The lawsuit asks the court to issue a writ of mandamus requiring the City of Austin to “promptly” provide copies of the requested records to The Austin Bulldog pursuant to the terms of the Texas Public Information Act. (A writ of mandamus is a judicial order directing a government official to perform a duty that is not subject to the official’s discretion.) The lawsuit also seeks reasonable and necessary attorney fees and cost to plaintiff.

“After many months of being under scrutiny over transparency issues and after a couple of weak attempts to deal with these issues, the Austin City government still has a fundamental problem: Austin officials have a bad attitude about letting the public see what they are doing,” said Bill Aleshire of Riggs Aleshire and Ray PC, who represents The Austin Bulldog.

Water Treatment Plant records withheld