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Knightstown Banner12/13/2005
FOR PUBLICATION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Appellant-Plaintiff, the Knightstown Banner, LLC. (the Banner), appeals the trial court's denial of its Motion for Summary Judgment in favor of Appellees-Defendants, Town of Knightstown (Knightstown), Governmental Insurance Manager, Inc. (GIM) and Governmental Interinsurance Exchange (GIE). The Hoosier State Press Association Foundation filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the Banner.
We reverse and remand with instructions.
ISSUE
The Banner raises three issues on appeal, one of which we find dispositive and which we restate as follows: Whether documents created by the attorney appointed by Knightstown's reciprocal insurer, memorializing the terms and conditions of a settlement of a civil rights lawsuit brought by a former employee against Knightstown, are public records under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act (APRA).
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
This case arises out of three separate requests from the Banner to Knightstown, GIM, and GIE, each seeking to inspect and copy a settlement agreement that resolved a civil rights lawsuit filed on November 25, 2002 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, by Gigi Steinwachs (Steinwachs) against Knightstown, members of its police department, and other third parties. In her lawsuit, Steinwachs alleged sexual harassment, physical assault, and intimidation during her employment as a dispatcher with the Knightstown police department. Besides Knightstown's regular town counsel (Regular Town Counsel), an attorney retained by Knightstown's reciprocal insurer, GIE (Retained Town Counsel), also participated in the civil rights lawsuit.
GIE is a reciprocal insurer organized under the laws of Illinois, and authorized to conduct insurance business in Indiana. It is a reciprocal interinsurance program whereby governmental entities enter into contracts of indemnity with each other through their common attorney-in-fact, GIM. GIE's insureds, known as subscribers, are exclusively local governmental entities, of which seventy-three percent are located in Indiana. At the time of the initiation of the civil rights lawsuit, Knightstown was insured by GIE. Under the terms of the policy, GIM, as the appointed true and lawful attorney of [Knightstown], had the right to
pay those sums that [Knightstown] becomes legally obligated to pay as "damages" because of injury caused by "Designated Wrongful Employment Practices: to which this Coverage Part applies. will have the rights and duty to defend any insured against a "suit" seeking these damages from [Knightstown], and will have the right to administer, manage, and control the defense of [Knightstown] . . . may at our discretion investigate any "occurrence" and settle, in whole or in part, any "claim" or "suit" that may result.
(Appellant's App. p. 543).
On October 21, 2003, Steinwachs, individually and through counsel, and Knightstown, through Regular Town Counsel and Retained Town Counsel, resolved the civil rights lawsuit in a settlement conference. Following the conference, the district court ordered the filing of a motion to dismiss or stipulation of dismissal within thirty days because of the settlement between the parties. Pursuant to the terms of the settlement, Knightstown was to directly pay Steinwachs $5,000.00 in partial payment of the agreed compensation. However, the Town Council President refused to further discuss the terms of the settlement because of a confidentiality provision which would result in additional compensation for Steinwachs if breached.
On or about November 13, 2003,
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