Rainone Coughlin Minchello 2024 Contract and Invoices
Charlie Kratovil made this OPRA request to Middlesex County as part of a batch sent to 63 authorities Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.
Dear Middlesex County,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-5(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
Records requested:
1) all signed contract(s) for Rainone Coughlin Minchello (RCM) in effect during 2024.
2) all bills/invoices received from the above firm for work done during 2024
My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and provide their email address to me for future reference.
Yours faithfully,
Charlie Kratovil
An error occurred while trying to deliver the mail to the following recipients:
[Middlesex County request email]
Attachments:
[1]Inv_18922.pdf
[2]Agreement_to_Provide_Legal_Services_2024_Rainone_Coughlin_Minchello_Fully_Executed.pdf
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Dear Charlie:
I write in response to your public records request seeking “1) all signed
contract(s) for Rainone Coughlin Minchello (RCM) in effect during 2024; 2)
all bills/invoices received from the above firm for work done during
2024.”
First, attached please find the 2024 agreement to provide legal services
as special labor counsel. There is no agreement related to that firm’s
assignment as liability defense counsel.
Next, attached please find the invoice pertaining to special labor counsel
in 2024.
With regard to your request for bills/invoices for that firm’s liability
defense work, such invoices will require review to ensure that they do not
contain privileged or confidential information. As you know, OPRA allows
public agencies to impose special service charges whenever a request would
require an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort. See N.J.S.A.
47:1A-5(c). Your request as written would require an extraordinary
expenditure of time. Alternatively, we would propose providing a list of
payments made to that firm in 2024 that would not require a privilege
review. Please let us know how you prefer to proceed so that we can either
provide the payment history or an estimated special service charge.
References
Visible links
1. https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/clic...
2. https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/clic...
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Dear Charlie-- it has been a week since I last reached out seeking
clarification as to whether you would prefer to receive a payment history
from 2024 for the RCM law firm or if you were seeking a copy of the
invoices that would require a privilege review to which a special service
charge would apply. As I have not heard back, I will close out this
request at this time but the request can always be reopened at a later
time.
Dear Middlesex County OPRA Center,
I apologize for missing your message about the privilege review.
While I would appreciate a vendor report in addition to the requested records, I do in fact require the invoices/bills from this vendor. Many other entities have been able to produce all 2024 bills from this firm without the need for a special service charge. Please advise me of the county's position regarding any charges that will be assessed for obtaining these records. Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Charlie Kratovil
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Dear Charlie:
I write in furtherance of your public records request seeking:
1) all signed contract(s) for Rainone Coughlin Minchello (RCM) in effect
during 2024.
2) all bills/invoices received from the above firm for work done during
2024
As you know, we have already provided all signed contracts and some of the
invoices for special labor counsel. We previously offered to provide you
with a copy of the payment history in lieu of your request but you have
continued to request a copy of the detailed legal invoices for all work
done. Detailed invoices for ongoing litigation are likely to contain
information that is, amongst other things, protected under the
attorney/client or work product privileges. Such information is exempt
under OPRA and would need to be reviewed and redacted before the invoices
can be disclosed. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-9.
As such, the review and redaction of hundreds of pages of legal invoices
is expected to take an extraordinary amount of time to fulfill. OPRA
allows public agencies to impose special service charges whenever the
nature, format, manner of collation, or volume of a government record
embodied in the form of printed matter to be inspected, examined, or
copied pursuant to this section is such that the record cannot be
reproduced by ordinary document copying equipment in ordinary business
size or when fulfilling a request requires an extraordinary expenditure of
time and effort. See N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(c). Special service charges must be
based upon the actual direct cost of providing the copy or copies. Due to
the nature of your request, an extraordinary expenditure of time is
estimated in order to fulfill your request.
Below represents a breakdown of the estimated time and materials to be
expended:
Total hours estimated to review invoices: 5.10
Employee hourly rate: $75.05
The total estimated amount due to fulfill this request is $ 382.76. Please
advise if you agree to payment of this special service charge. Upon
receipt of payment, the County will begin to process your request. Please
have the payment mailed to my attention made payable to “Treasurer,
Middlesex County” and please reference OPRA # #W022189-050125 on the
payment. If less time is required to fulfill this request, the difference
will be returned to you. If longer, we will request the remaining balance
before the records are disclosed. If no response is received within seven
(7) days, the County will consider this request withdrawn and will close
the request. Alternatively, as previously offered, we can provide a list
of payments that would not include detailed invoices
Please contact me if you have any questions.