Hearing sought in FOIA lawsuit against the City of Fort Smith
by May 15, 2025 5:06 pm 1,575 views
Fort Smith attorney Joey McCutchen is seeking an expedited hearing in his Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the City of Fort Smith and Acting Fort Smith City Administrator Jeff Dingman.
McCutchen on Wednesday (May 14) sent a letter to Sebastian County Circuit Court Judge Dianna Hewitt Ladd asking for a hearing within seven days.
McCutchen filed the lawsuit May 2 in which he alleges that the city did not provide requested documentation related to the failed attempt to hire an internal auditor. The Fort Smith Board of Directors voted April 22 to hire Rebecca Cowan as internal auditor. After it was disclosed she faced a felony charge, the board rescinded the hiring on April 24.
The complaint notes that emails provided to McCutchen by City Director Christina Catsavis are proof that the city had information and emails requested by McCutchen through an FOIA. The complaint also notes that the city failed to meet statutorily required deadlines in their FOIA response.
“We respectfully request that the Court provide available hearing dates next week, at its convenience,” McCutchen noted in his letter to Ladd.
He also informed the judge that he would seek to depose Dingman and others, including Fort Smith Human Resources Director Rick Lolley, “before the hearing and on an expedited basis.”
Colby Roe, an attorney with Fort Smith-based Daily & Woods, the firm that represents the city, said procedural rules allow the city 30 days to respond to a lawsuit.
“The provisions of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act do not supplant a party’s right in responding to process as set forth in the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure,” Roe noted in his letter to Judge Ladd dated May 15.
Josh Buchfink, the city’s public relations manager, said May 2 when the lawsuit was first filed that “the City furnished all relevant documents in response to Mr. McCutchen’s FOIA request and remains committed to openness and transparency.” Dingman reiterated Thursday that the city “fully complied with the request.”