NJ Supreme Court rules against Asbury Park Press in Neptune killer cop records case

The New Jersey Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that the Asbury Park Press cannot recover legal fees from Neptune for a lawsuit seeking the internal affairs file of township Police Sgt. Philip Seidle, who gunned down his ex-wife in 2015.

The high court ruled 6-0 in favor of Neptune, ending a six-year legal battle by the Press. Supreme Court Associate Justice Douglas Fasciale did not participate.

The legal fees amounted to $86,000 when the trial court judge ordered Neptune to pick up the Press’ legal tab in 2019. The exact amount since then, with the cost of appeals, has not been calculated.

Thomas Cafferty, an attorney who represented the Press' parent company Gannett in the case, said the fees would be "significantly more" than the 2019 figure.

"We're clearly disappointed in the result," Cafferty said, adding that the ruling Tuesday would eventually result in the lessening of access to police internal affairs records.

The Press eventually prevailed in the documents portion of the lawsuit against Neptune, filed in 2017. But that win was muted in December 2020 when then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal released most of Seidle's internal affairs file independently of Neptune while the case was still on appeal after he initially declined to do so. His reconsideration came in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin.

The Press received an expanded set of records from Neptune.

The Press waged the legal fight under the common law right to access after the trial judge rejected the Press’ claim under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). Under the common law, the courts weigh the public’s right to access against the state’s decision to limit access, taking into account considerations such as privacy and public safety.

More: Neptune police sergeant guns down wife in broad daylight

OPRA allows for the shifting of attorney’s fees to defendants if the plaintiff prevails. But according to Tuesday’s ruling, the common law only allows the recovery of those fees in limited circumstances.

When it comes to civil litigation, New Jersey follows what’s known as the “American Rule,” meaning litigants must pay their own attorney’s fees. But there are four exceptions under the common law, according to Tuesday’s ruling: 1) if the fee shifting is authorized by statute 2) if it aligns with a court rule allowing specific exceptions 3) if it pertains to a breach of fiduciary duty or 4) if it has to do with a contractual obligation.

According to the high court ruling, none of those exceptions applied.

The trial judge permitted a partial fee under the common law. The Appellate Division overruled in 2021 and the Supreme Court affirmed the appeals court decision Tuesday.

More: Secret police documents revealed: Read Neptune killer cop Phil Seidle's IA file

“Imposing fee-shifting in this category of cases would venture far beyond the narrow exceptions to the American Rule that New Jersey courts have adopted to date,” the high court said.

And it is “particularly inappropriate” in this type of case because of the “significant burdens on municipal clerks and other records custodians; they require a careful balancing of competing interests and the application of an array of factors that can challenge even a seasoned judge,” the court said. "If a custodian were to release information not properly subject to disclosure in order to avoid the risk of an award of attorneys’ fees, individuals’ privacy and safety and the public entity’s interests could be compromised."

Jonathan Cohen, the attorney who represented Neptune, highlighted the court's reservations.

"We think it's too much to ask of a municipal clerk or a custodian of records of a government jurisdiction who is not a lawyer to have to basically issue a quasi-judicial that a court might subsequently disagree with which would result in the imposition of taxpayer-funded legal fees," he said. "The ruling is significant because it establishes that it is really the job of the Legislature to establish fee-shifting statutes."

Following decades of trouble at the Seidle home, in 2015 Seidle chased his ex-wife Tamara Wilson-Seidle through the streets of Asbury Park, ran her car off the road and opened fire in front of their 7-year-old daughter and other police officers at the scene.

Seidle pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in a negotiated plea. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The release of Seidle’s internal affairs file confirmed earlier Asbury Park Press reporting that his domestic turmoil was known to local law enforcement.

More: Killer cop's 'domestic violence' known to his department prior to shooting

Cafferty said police internal affairs records will now be much harder to come by since they are only allowed under the common law right to access — not OPRA — and the inability of requestors to recover attorney's fees will dampen their ability to pursue those claims.

CJ Griffin, an attorney who represented the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, which supported the Press in the case, agreed.

"Without access to attorney's fees, most members of the public will not be able to enforce their rights to obtain police internal affairs reports, dash camera videos, and so many other records that we have access to pursuant to the Supreme Court’s landmark decisions expanding the common law right to these documents," Griffin said.

Ken Serrano covers breaking news, crime and investigations. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or at kserrano@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ Supreme Court rules against Asbury Park Press in killer cop lawsuit