A local property owner filed a second lawsuit against a city of Hillsdale official on Nov. 2 following the alleged withholding of information he requested through the Freedom of Information Act.
The lawsuit, filed by Lance Lashaway in the 1st Judicial Circuit Court, named Hillsdale’s City Manager and FOIA Coordinator David Mackie as a defendant. It alleges that on Sept. 29, Lashaway, the owner of Ultimate Holdings LLC, sent a FOIA request to the city of Hillsdale. This request sought the official records pertaining to his prior lawsuit.
Under FOIA, public bodies have the duty of releasing requested public records within a certain amount of time of the initial request, if they are not documents the body is allowed to withhold.
Lashaway said he received no response to his request.
“I followed the law by requesting information through the FOIA process. Dave Mackie is breaking the law withholding it from me,” Lashaway said.
The first lawsuit, filed on Oct. 7, brought five different charges against Mackie, County Building Inspector Ray Taylor, and City Zoning Administrator Alan Beeker. The suit alleges that the city and county sent Lashaway a photocopied notice of safety code violations at his building, located at 2 N. Howell St. in downtown Hillsdale. The notice was reportedly “filled out improperly” and cut off so that the signature of the issuer was missing.
In his FOIA request, Lashaway asked for a copy of the ticket in its entirety. More specifically, he requested a copy that included the signature of the official authorized to sign such citations.
According to the lawsuit, Lashaway received no response to his request.
“Mr. Lashaway has made extensive efforts over the past weeks to resolve this dispute without recourse to litigation,” the lawsuit reads. “Defendant’s denial of Mr. Lashaway’s request to a citation issued to him with no explanation or bother to respond is arbitrary and capricious.”
The lawsuit also alleges that, as Lashaway’s efforts continue to be unsuccessful, the need for the information continues to increase or Lashaway’s business and livelihood will be “irreparably injured.”
Lashaway continues to allege that the city of Hillsdale is targeting him. His building has drawn attention from the community, business owners, and city councilmen since being rented to Hope House, a residential treatment center for men who struggle with substance abuse.
“The fact I am blatantly being targeted by city and county government because they don’t want the Hope House in Hillsdale and nothing is being done about it by our elected representatives is unbelievable,” Lashaway said.
Mackie could not be reached for comment, but an Oct. 27 press release from the city said it was the city’s position that all of Lashaway’s allegations are “inaccurate.”
