Dear Custodian of Records:

Pursuant to the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., please accept this correspondence as a formal request for governmental records. This request is made by FratLawzOPRA.

I hereby request copies of any and all executed settlement agreements, releases, settlement memoranda, settlement-related payment documents, closing statements, vouchers, drafts, or stipulations of dismissal entered into by the Township of North Bergen, its insurers, its employees, its agents, or any third-party administrator pertaining to or arising from the following Tort Claim Notices and claimants:
1. Alex Guzman – Notice of Tort Claim dated January 27, 2025
2. Alex Guzman – Amended Notice of Tort Claim dated March 24, 2025
3. Detective Michael A. Derin – Notice of Tort Claim dated March 21, 2025
4. Michael F. Derin (Special) – Executed Notice of Claim dated March 21, 2025
5. Christopher Bowen – Executed Notice of Claim dated March 20, 2025
6. Rasheed Siyam – Notice of Tort Claim dated March 5, 2025, captioned Siyam v. Township of North Bergen

For each person listed above, I request any executed settlement agreement, any release (general or limited), any settlement-related correspondence memorializing final terms, any stipulation of dismissal filed in Superior Court, and any financial authorization or payment instrument associated with the resolution of their claims.

If a settlement agreement does not exist for any individual named above, you are required to provide a Certification of Non-Existence of Records consistent with Paff v. Galloway, 229 N.J. 340 (2017).

⸻

LEGAL BASIS FOR DISCLOSURE

Settlement agreements involving public entities are unequivocally subject to public inspection:
• Asbury Park Press v. Monmouth County, 406 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 2009) – Settlement agreements involving government entities are public records; confidentiality provisions are unenforceable.
• South Jersey Publishing Co. v. NJ Expressway Auth., 124 N.J. 461 (1991) – The NJ Supreme Court held that settlements involving public bodies must be disclosed.
• Mason v. City of Hoboken, 196 N.J. 51 (2008) – OPRA must be liberally construed in favor of access, particularly regarding public expenditures.

GRC rulings further confirm this obligation:
• GRC 2002-47 (Harris v. Rutgers) – Settlement agreements are government records.
• GRC 2012-109 (Gannett v. NJSEA) – They cannot be withheld for privacy or litigation-strategy reasons.
• GRC 2011-181 (Paff v. Camden City) – Police-related settlement agreements must be released.

No OPRA exemption applies to finalized settlements, and any claim of attorney-client or deliberative-process privilege is extinguished once a matter is fully executed. See Payne v. Neptune, 438 N.J. Super. 170 (App. Div. 2014).

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(i), you must provide the requested records within seven (7) business days. Any denial must cite a specific statutory exemption; failure to comply may constitute a knowing and willful OPRA violation, subject to the fee-shifting mandate articulated in N.J.S.A. 47:1A-6 and reinforced in Mason.

If redactions are applied, you must provide a Vaughn-index-style explanation identifying the specific OPRA exemption supporting each redaction.

⸻

MANDATORY CERTIFICATIONS (INCLUDE IN FULL)

I hereby certify the following:
1. I have not been convicted of an indictable offense under the laws of the State of New Jersey, the United States, or any other state or territory of the United States.
2. I will not use the requested records for commercial purposes.
3. I will not use the requested records in connection with any pending or anticipated litigation or legal proceeding.
4. This request is made solely to obtain governmental transparency as intended by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.

⸻

Please deliver all responsive records electronically via email to [email address], as permitted under OPRA.

Thank you in advance for your prompt handling of this request.

Respectfully submitted