MT: Judge gives Gianforte six weeks to hand over documents related to 'bad actor' request

[RandySF]

A Helena judge is giving Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte six weeks to turn over all documents related to a mining official and the claims that he should be barred from working in the state, and said the state’s chief executive had either misconstrued Montana’s right-to-know laws or provided no legal justification for stonewalling the release of information.

Two organizations, the Montana Environmental Information Center and Earthworks, filed a lawsuit in November 2021 seeking documents related to Phillips S. Baker, Jr. Baker was the vice president and chief financial officer for Pegasus Gold when it filed for bankruptcy at the Zortman-Landusky site, now home to one of the largest mining remediation clean-ups in state history. Officials have previously said that because of Pegasus’ mining activities there, clean-up and water remediation will be a permanent issue at the site.

Baker is now the chief executive officer for Hecla Mining, which is proposing two new silver mines in the Cabinet Mountains in the northwestern part of the state.

However, Montana has a “bad actor” law that prohibits mining executives and companies for which they work to receive a new permit in the state if they’ve failed to clean up past operations or reimburse the state for those clean-up costs. The two organizations sought documents related to Baker, the state and the bad actor law, arguing that Baker and Hecla should be ineligible for the new permits.

The Gianforte administration has consistently refused to turn over any documents related Baker or Hecla, arguing that the chief executive had discretion whether to turn them over, that they were available by using the discovery process, and that they were a product of attorney-client privilege – all arguments that Lewis and Clark District Court Judge Christopher Abbott rejected.




https://dailymontanan.com/2023/06/26/judge-gives-gianforte-six-weeks-to-hand-over-documents-related-to-bad-actor-request/

[gratuitous]

1. Gianforte has been stonewalling for a year and a half

And the judge gives him another six weeks. What do you bet that come August Gianforte is all "Documents? What documents? I don't have any documents."

Reading through the article, it looks like Gianforte is arguing in bad faith and trying to invent exceptions in the law that don't exist. If the plaintiffs petitioned for attorney fees to pursue this order, the court should order Gianforte to pay up.

Additionally, Abbott issued the order as a writ of mandamus – a legal instrument that mandates Gianforte turn over all documents covered by the request within six weeks. The instrument is rare because of its general and far-reaching nature, rather than a dispute about a particular document or group of documents.

Abbott granted the order because the Gianforte administration has yet to produce a single document related to the request.

“Here the governor has produced no documents at all and supplied no privilege log,” Abbott wrote.

[montanacowboy]

2. 2 new silver mines in the Cabinets?

Jesus H Christ. That's all that area needs to probably destroy the environment. I lived for 25 years in that area and I can only imagine what a silver mine would do to it.
This SOB of a governor should go back to New Jersey and stay there. It's hard to believe the people of the state voted for this low life carpet bagger. But then again maybe not. He kicked the shit out of a reporter and got away with it. Montanans better get their heads on straight.