Hirschfeld v. Okla. Tpk. Auth.
| Docket Number | 120981 |
| Decision Date | 31 May 2023 |
| Parties | TASSIE KATHERINE HIRSCHFELD, VERA GAYLE WARD, STANLEY M. WARD, RARCHAR TORTORELLA, TERESA ELAM, CAROL HERRON, JERRY HERRON, AMY CERATO, REBECCA RIGSBY, MICHAEL RIGSBY, BRIAN HALL, SHONIA HALL, RAY COULEMAN, TERRI COULEMAN, JILL THOMPSON, LINDA BARRY, JENNIE PATTERSON, MATT THOMPSON, VINCENT DOUGHERTY, KARLA MORTON, BOB GOODWIN, ROBYN GOODWIN, ROBERT WALLACE, CHELSEA WALLACE, CANDANCE F. HOTTLE, JANICE CHADWICK, CYNTHIA BARNARD, GENE KELLY RINER, FREDERICK THOMPSON, CHRISTINE THOMPSON, MARIAL LEE MARTYN, WESLEY E. CHANNELL, ROBIN STRADER, JEFFREY STRADER, NATACHA STRADER, MONTGOMERY LONG, DANNY CARPENTER, RITA CARPENTER, J.D. KROMER, KAREN GOODCHILD, WILLIAM JOHNSON, DONALD CORY, ROBBIE WHEELER, AMBER TUCKER, TOMMY LINGLE, LANEESE LINGLE, JEFFREY CARSON, SHARON FARRIS, MARIA KINDEL, JONATHAN KINDEL, BRIAN HOUCK, ROY TRITTEN, ANGIE FENTON, ARCHIE CLARK, DEBBIE CLARK, MARK DOOLING, CLAUDETTE WISPE, GILDA SUZANNE FAILING, ALLISON RENEE FAILING, GREGORY MATTHEW FAILING, KELLY RENAE KING, MICHAEL DODSON, PAULA DODSON, GARY MURRIAN, BARBARA MURRIAN, DEBRA A SALTZMAN, PAM MCINTOSH, CHRIS MILLSAP, KEVIN MILLSAP, BRIAN MITCHELL, CURTIS MITCHELL, NAOMI GOOCH, FRANCES MICHELLE SUMMERS, GUINNEVERE GEYER, TERESA HEARD, TERRY ANDERSON, TERESA ANDERSON, MELISSA BLEVINS, ROBIN SCHWAB, JOHN PAUL GAY, CHARLOTTE GAY, JIM BRISCOE, MATTHEW HOLLIS, KIMBERLY HOLLIS, DAN RYAN, NICOLE CROWSON, ANNETTE JAYE WATSON-PATTEN, LAYTON GOAD, HILARY WRIGHT, ELDON MURNAN, LINDA MURNAN, CHERYL LYNN BAY, TESSA, JOSEPH CONERLY, CHARLES JAY ARMSTRONG, ELLEN ANN EDGE, STEVE WEICHBRODT, JONI WEICHBRODT, MITCH BAROFF, JANET BRADFORD, DAVID A. BRADFORD, JAMES H. LITTLE, DAKOTA COOK, DIAN STEWART, ANTHONY STEWART, JEANETTE JAHNKE, JOY CUMMINGS, DARY STACY, TERENCE CUMMINGS, TASHA STACY, BRET STACY, KERENSA MARIE STURGELL, JOSHUA CADE ADKISSON, PATRICIA A O'BRIEN, SUE MARSHALL, DAVID MARSHALL, BRET A. DUFFEY, MINDY J. MCCALLICK-DUFFEY, ALI BEAUCHAMP, DON SONTHEIMER, DIANE VANLANDINGHAM, TANNER EUGENE NAEHER, DAVID LISENBERY, JR., SUSAN BEAUCHAMP, PHILIP BEAUCHAMP, TADD BLISS, TADD BLISS II, AUSTIN BEAUCHAMP, KENZIE THOMPSON, TIFFANY MICHELLE STEPHENS, CASSIE BROWN, WILLIAM DUSTIN HACKATHORN, TWYLA JEAN SMITH, JOEL ELLIS HOLLOWAY, GARY JAMES BILLINGSLEY, DARLYNN SADIE BILLINGSLY, PAMELA SUE GROOM, DARLA JOY LEBLANC, CEDRIC JAMES LEBLANC, DANIEL BROCKHAUSE, KEITH BROCKHAUSE, CAROLL SOTO, DONNA IRENE VINT, MELISSA MARIE YOUNG, GRACE WAGNER, TARA WAGNER, ISAAC IAN YOUNG, STANLEY M. WARD AS TRUSTEE OF THE STANLEY M. WARD REVOCABLE TRUST DATED OCTOBER 23, 2014; VERA GAYLE WARD AS TRUSTEE OF THE VERA GAYLE WARD REVOCABLE TRUST DATED OCTOBER 23, 2014, DAWN M. GOLDSMITH, KAREN TERESA CONTRERAS, BRIGITTE Y. KERSTEN-GATES, TOM HACKLEMAN, JOYCE JOHNSON, MELINDA SITES, STEPHEN E. SITES, ANDREW SPROUSE, JESSICA SPROUSE, MICHELLE TRISSELL, AUBREY WASHINGTON, RACHEL LYNN ROACH, WARREN KIPER, GARY J. HUMPHREY, RAGENIA G HUMPHREY, TONI YVONNE HOY, JEREMY LUKE HOY, JESSICA DARNELL, MAURICE SMITH, DIANA SMITH, GLEN RICHARDSON, MARY RICHARDSON, JANNA ROUSEY, HERB ROUSEY, KATHY PAGANONI, JOESPH PAGANONI, ANGELA PAGANONI, JOHN S. PAGANONI, RANDY POWELL, VICKI POWELL, DAVID W. CLARK, CHAD UNRUH, NATALEE UNRUH, JANET GAIL KIRBY, CLARA M. BOGGS, BRANDON NOFIRE, ALLIS CATHERINE MADOLE-VAUGHN, LISA FRANCIOSE OLSON SHARP, HOWARD PENNINGTON, CINDY PENNINGTON, PATRICIA J. RUCKER, ANDREW KAREKJAS, JORDAN DOERFEL, JENNIFER MARIE LARSEN, DAVIS BEAUCHAMP, MARIANNE BEAUCHAMP, JOHN KENNITH WHITSON, NICOLE LESLIE WHITSON, SHELLY RIGGS GUNTER, WILLIAM J. DANIEL, LISA A. WRIGHT, JANIE I. DANIEL, DOUGLAS KEITH BELLIS, KRISTINA MARIE BELLIS, KRISTINA FEEZOR, ROBERT FEEZOR, LOUISE JUDGE, RUTH CHAMBERS, JESSICA ANN SHUFORD, CHARLES ENLOE, KIM ENLOE, STEPHEN CRAIG MABREY, CYRUS HAINES, JEFFREY CARLSON, EDWARD TAYLOR, ABIGAIL TAYLOR, BRENTON VENA, ANNE LANGSTON, SARAH SUZANNE MOORE, GREGORY FITTER, GENE K. RINER, MARK WAGNER, DANIEL RYAN, NICOLE CROWSON, DAVID BERRY, QUINCIA BERRY, CODY SWINSON, CLINT SWINSON, GERRY E. GRIFFITH, THOMAS R. RUTLEDGE, JANELLE RUTLEDGE, DAVID ALVIN MOORE, JR., MICHAEL LEARY, JERRY EVANS, JONATHAN G BOGGS, ADAM BAKER, WAYNE BATES, CARLA BATES, MICHELLE SUMMERS, CHRISTINE COOPER, LEONARD COOPER, ANTHONY VERNON RIPLEY, DAWN NICOLE RIPLEY, WAYNE BALES, CARLA BALES and MARY MARTIN, Plaintiffs/Appellees, v. OKLAHOMA TURNPIKE AUTHORITY, an agency of the State of Oklahoma, Defendant/Appellant, and E. GENE LOVE, in his official capacity; JOHN D. JONES, in his official capacity; DANA WEBER, in her official capacity; TODD A. CONE, in his official capacity; WILL L. BERRY, in his official capacity; JOHN A. TITSWORTH, in his official capacity; and, TIMOTHY GATZ, in this official capacity, Defendants. |
| Court | Oklahoma Supreme Court |
ON APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF CLEVELAND COUNTY HONORABLE TIMOTHY L. OLSON, TRIAL JUDGE
Phillip G. Whaley and Grant M. Lucky, Ryan Whaley, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Appellant.
Stanley M. Ward, Noble, Oklahoma, for Appellees.
Richard C. Labarthe and Alexey Tarasov, Labarthe & Tarasov, Oklahoma City Oklahoma, for Appellees.
DISTRICT COURT'S JUDGMENT REVERSED AND CAUSE REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO GRANT SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF APPELLANT.
¶0 A group of landowners filed a petition for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief, claiming that the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority violated the Open Meeting Act, 25 O.S.2021, §§ 301 to 314, regarding its notice to the public of the ACCESS Oklahoma Program. Both parties sought summary judgment. The district court rendered summary judgment in the landowners' favor, finding that the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority willfully violated the Open Meeting Act. We retained Oklahoma Turnpike Authority's appeal. We hold that the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority gave sufficient notice of the agenda items that the landowners challenge. We further rule that the lack of notice regarding the announcement of the ACCESS Oklahoma Program at the February 2022 meeting did not violate the Open Meeting Act because the announcement was for informational purposes only.
¶1 Appellees, a group of residents and landowners who claim they will be adversely affected by the construction of one of the proposed new turnpikes (the South Extension [1]) under the ACCESS [2] Oklahoma Program (ACCESS Program), brought their claims against the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) in the Cleveland County District Court for violations of the Open Meeting Act (OMA), 25 O.S.2021, §§ 301 to 314. Appellees alleged that the OTA violated the OMA by not providing sufficient or timely notice of the new proposed turnpikes in either the January 2022 or February 2022 agendas. Appellees specifically challenged Agenda Items 884, 885, and 894 in the January 25, 2022 regular board meeting agenda as not identifying with specificity which "turnpike projects" the contracts involved. Appellees challenged Agenda Items 906, 908, and 909 in the February 22, 2022 regular board meeting agenda for not providing sufficient notice of the proposed South Extension. Appellees also challenged the lack of notice in the February 22, 2022 meeting agenda of Governor Kevin Stitt's announcement of the ACCESS Program. Appellees requested that the district court invalidate these specific agenda items as willful violations of the OMA and any subsequent actions related to those two items. They also requested that the district court enjoin the OTA from exercising its power of eminent domain over Appellees' properties until the OTA complied with the OMA. Both parties moved for summary judgment. The district court granted Appellees' motion, invalidating the actions taken by the OTA in approving Agenda Items 884, 885, and 894 during the January 25, 2022 regular board meeting and Agenda Items 906, 908, and 909 during the February 22, 2022 regular board meeting. The district court also granted declaratory relief, finding the OTA violated the OMA by announcing the ACCESS Program at the February 22, 2022 regular board meeting without giving notice of the announcement in the OTA's meeting agenda. The district court further ruled that although the lack of notice was violative of the OMA, the OTA did not take any action requiring invalidation. OTA appealed. This Court retained the appeal.
¶2 The issues for the Court to determine are whether the OTA complied with the statutory notice requirements of the OMA concerning the actions the OTA's Board of Directors (Board) took on six agenda items from its January and February 2022 regular meetings and whether the OTA violated the OMA concerning the announcement of the ACCESS Program. We hold that the OTA gave sufficient notice of the actions it took on the six challenged agenda items, as each agenda item provided notice of the subject matter of the business that the Board transacted. We further rule that the announcement of the ACCESS Program at the February 2022 meeting was for informational purposes only. Because no action was taken by the Board at the February 2022 meeting regarding the ACCESS Program and sufficient notice was given for the actions taken at the June 2022 special meeting regarding the ACCESS Program, the OMA did not require that the OTA give more specific notice of the announcement regarding the ACCESS project during the Director's Report.
¶3 During the OTA's December 2021 regular board meeting, the OTA confirmed that it was seeking to develop the "most robust long-range plan in its history," which included a discussion regarding the need to gather details to determine the viability of projects, conceptual designs, and funding options. The OTA also published a press release the same day which stated that the OTA plans to hire consultants and additional professional services to vet the details and start conceptual design plans during the upcoming year. The OTA did not set out any...
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