Portland is considering appealing a Multnomah County judge’s 2019 ruling that ordered the city to stop charging excessive fees for routine email and document searches to fulfill public records requests.

The City Council is set to vote Wednesday on whether to allow the city attorney’s office to appeal Circuit Court Judge Shelley D. Russell’s order to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

The case stemmed from a September 2018 lawsuit filed by attorney and activist Alan Kessler, who claimed the city overcharged him by requiring he pay $311.67 for metadata from emails between a member of Portland’s Historic Landmarks Commission and four employees at the city’s Bureau of Development Services.

Russell wrote last November that Portland often uses high-paid employees to conduct public records request searches, which can drive up the costs for the requester.

The judge noted the city doesn’t have a method to refund money to requesters when they are overcharged.

She could also order the city to pay Kessler’s attorney fees, which city officials said are $120,000.

Russell’s ruling isn’t straightforward enough to ensure the city can comply, according to city officials. The ruling as it stands would also “prevent the city from using its expertise and discretion in using the Bureau of Technology Services’ employees it feels are qualified from conducting public records searches and from recouping its actual costs.”

“The City Attorney’s Office believes that the judgment is unclear and seeks clarification from the Court of Appeals as to the breadth and scope of the judgment,” city records show.

The city has until Feb. 7 to file a notice with the Appeals Court that it wants to challenge the prior ruling.

-- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey

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