A public agency faces the risk, in litigating an OPRA matter, of paying the plaintiff’s attorney fees if the plaintiff prevails in the case. To assist agencies in evaluating the potential cost of a records dispute, this blog will report on court-ordered attorney fee awards under OPRA.

In a recent case, Ganzweig v. Tp. of Lakewood, the trial judge awarded $21, 401.10 in attorney fees to a successful OPRA plaintiff. In making this award, the judge accepted as reasonable the $315 hourly rate requested by attorney Walter Luers, Esq., who frequently represents plaintiffs in OPRA litigation.

The award in this case is of particular interest because the judge added a 30% contingency enhancement, increasing the total amount awarded by several thousand dollars. Although trial judges are permitted to enhance a fee award, the New Jersey Supreme Court has cautioned that such an increase is rarely appropriate in OPRA matters. The Ganzweig opinion shows that despite the Supreme Court’s effort to limit enhancement of OPRA attorney fee awards to exceptional cases, trial courts will provide OPRA plaintiffs’ attorneys with substantial fee increases in cases presenting novel legal issues.