Judge orders governor’s office to release withheld documents

In January of last year, Stephen Elliott and Nashville Post parent company FW Publishing filed a public records lawsuit against the state. This week, almost precisely a year later, the Davidson County Chancery Court ruled on behalf of Elliott and FWP, ordering Gov. Bill Lee’s office to release withheld documents pertaining to a no-bid contract.

Elliott is acting editor of the Post and a reporter for sister publication Nashville Scene. He and FW Publishing — represented by Paul McAdoo with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press — named Gov. Lee and Tennessee Department of Human Resources Commissioner Juan Williams in the lawsuit in order to gain access to reports by consulting firm McKinsey & Co. The firm was awarded a $3 million no-bid contract to issue reports regarding the state’s reopening as well as “government operations” and “support to the Unified Command Group.”