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EWEB loses public records case, must pay RG lawyer Jack Orchard $70K

Last updated on 05/05/2016

Christian Wihtol has the long story in the RG here. EWEB’s current management and board didn’t have much choice about fighting the RG lawsuit, given the double-secret contract their predecessors had signed with Seneca. EWEB paid their own lawyers $100k for losing this case, and is still paying millions more to Seneca and other failed green energy projects, as Wihtol documents. What fun, spending other people’s money.

If only EWEB’s lawyers had accidentally emailed the RG the unredacted contracts, as some anonymous HLGR employee did during the RG’s public records lawsuit against Eugene’s 4-J School District, this case would have ended sooner and our utility bills would be a bit lower.

RG attorney Jack Orchard is from Portland’s Ball Janik law firm. I’ve always liked a winner:

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4 Comments

  1. Quackster 05/05/2016

    Jack Orchard IS a winner. Nobody in Oregon knows more about the state’s public records law. He’s won a number of cases that would have otherwise set unhealthy precedents for interpreting the statute.

    Funny man, too. Love his quote: “EWEB knew it was headed for a legal short circuit.”

  2. Steve Mital 05/05/2016

    I thought it was mostly good reporting. If you read between the lines, you get a sense of the complexity of pulling together a reliable portfolio of energy resources for a town of 170,000.

    The RG’s vanity is also on display. They did not explain why they chose to settle or the terms of the settlement. Nor did they say what their legal costs were, only the amount others contributed towards them.

    Reporters have agendas too, Bill.

    • uomatters Post author | 05/05/2016

      I’m well aware of the fact that everyone has an agenda, Steve.

  3. Anas clypeata 05/06/2016

    Technically, EWEB settled in lieu of losing.

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