The Borough of Far Hills municipal building is currently closed to the
public.  Staff will continue to be available to serve our residents and
community and we ask for your patience and cooperation during these
challenging times. 
Please utilize our Borough website, email and voicemail to contact the
appropriate department.  A secure drop box is located outside of the
municipal building for your convenience.  Kindly make arrangements with
the respective department for guidance on services that can not be
accomplished remotely. 
Be well and keep safe!
Very truly yours,
Dorothy S. Hicks, RMC
Borough Clerk

Taeho Kim:

I received your OPRA request on May 28, 2020 as such, the seven (7)
business day deadline to respond to your request is June 8, 2020.  I am
responding to you on the 5th business day after receipt of your request.

Your request sought access to the following records:

1. A list of all lawsuits and cases in which any officer of the police
department was involved between 2012 and 2019. For each lawsuit/case,
please provide the date (month and year) of the alleged incident at issue,
whether the alleged incident was excessive force, settlement amount (if
any), and final compensation amount ruled (if any).

2. Please provide copies of the complaint in any lawsuits and cases
described in above.

Your request requires additional time beyond the seven (7) business days
to fulfill due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. OPRA allows custodians to seek
extensions of time pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.i.  Specifically, OPRA
states that, “the requestor shall be advised by the custodian when the
record can be made available. If the record is not made available by that
time, access shall be deemed denied.”

Your OPRA request requires an extension of time until June 30, 2020.

If your request for access to a government record has been denied or
unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, or as
modified per A-3849/S-2302, you have a right to challenge the decision by
the Borough of Far Hills to deny access. At your option, you may either
institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file a
complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by completing the
Denial of Access Complaint Form.  You may contact the GRC by toll-free
telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by
e-mail at [1][email address], or at their web site
at [2]www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about
the law.  All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court
should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.

Very truly yours,

Dorothy S. Hicks, RMC, QPA, CMR, MBA

Borough Clerk, Qualified Purchasing Agent and Registrar

Borough of Far Hills

6 Prospect Street

Far Hills, NJ  07931

t. 908.234.0611 x19

f. 908.234.0918

[3]WWW.FARHILLSNJ.ORG

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.state.nj.us/grc
3. http://www.farhillsnj.org/

Taeho Kim:

Your request sought access to the following records:

1. A list of all lawsuits and cases in which any officer of the police department was involved between 2012 and 2019. For each lawsuit/case, please provide the date (month and year) of the alleged incident at issue, whether the alleged incident was excessive force, settlement amount (if any), and final compensation amount ruled (if any).
No records exist as the Borough does not create or maintain a list of lawsuits and cases in which an officer of the police department was involved.

2. Please provide copies of the complaint in any lawsuits and cases described in above.

Your request is overly broad and open ended in that is does not specify or identify a record. As such, your request is an invalid OPRA request and is denied.

When a request is “complex” because it fails to specifically identify the documents sought, then that request is not “encompassed” by OPRA. See New Jersey Builders Association v. New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing, 390 N.J.Super. 166, 180 (App. Div. 2007). A proper request under OPRA must identify with reasonable clarity those documents that are desired, and a party cannot satisfy this requirement by simply requesting all of an agency's documents. See Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J.Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005). Custodians are not required to conduct research or create new records in response to an OPRA request

I will consider this OPRA request closed.

If your request for access to a government record has been denied or unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, or as modified per A-3849/S-2302, you have a right to challenge the decision by the Borough of Far Hills to deny access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [email address], or at their web site at www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.In response to #1 of the OPRA request, unless the Borough does contain such a list, the initial response should be that no record exists as the Borough does not create nor maintain a list of all lawsuits and cases in which an officer of the police department was involved. Second, I would further respond that #1 is not a valid OPRA request.

Very truly yours,

Dorothy S. Hicks, RMC, QPA, CMR, MBA
Borough Clerk, Qualified Purchasing Agent and Registrar
Borough of Far Hills
6 Prospect Street
Far Hills, NJ  07931
 
t. 908.234.0611 x19
f. 908.234.0918
www.FARHILLSNJ.ORG

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