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A Moreno Valley resident who sued the city earlier this year over its withholding of public documents has won her case.
In March, Lindsay Robinson requested the separation agreement between the city and former city clerk Pat Jacquez-Nares under the California Public Records Act. Robinson was denied the document in April, she said.
According to Interim City Attorney Steve Quintanilla, Jacquez-Nares’ departure in March 2018 was a mutual separation.
In June, Robinson filed a lawsuit against the city, seeking the separation agreement and payment of her attorney fees.
The 11-page agreement shows that Jacquez-Nares, who began working for the city in 2017, received the $152,000 cited in her employee agreement and an additional 125 hours of accrued leave.
On Dec.16, Robinson won her suit. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Eric A. Keen ordered the city to turn over the separation agreement and pay Robinson’s attorney fees.
Robinson, who ran unsuccessfully for Moreno Valley mayor in the Nov. 8 election, responded Thursday, Jan. 5, via email, but didn’t comment on her win.
In a June email, Robinson had called the lawsuit a “final resort” and said that residents deserved transparency.
Initially, Robinson asked for $24,000 in attorney fees, but the city opposed that amount, Robinson’s attorney, Michael Geller said Jan. 5.
While the judge ruled she was entitled to attorney fees, Geller said in a Wednesday, Jan. 11, email that he and the city are negotiating an amount. A hearing could be held to determine the amount of attorney fees to be paid, he said.
In court documents filed Jan. 5, Robinson and Geller asked for $43,498.99.
Quintanilla could not be reached for comment this week.
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