Evans County Board of Commissioners v. Claxton Enterprise

Phipps, Judge.

The main issue in this case is whether a litigant who proves a violation of Georgia’s Open Meetings Act 1 is entitled to attorney fees incurred in litigating the matter on appeal. We hold that such fees are recoverable. We also hold that they — along with attorney fees for trial level work — were appropriately awarded in this case.

The Claxton Enterprise, a newspaper, sued the Evans County Board of Commissioners for violating the Open Meetings Act by closing certain meetings to the public. 2 The trial court ruled that one meeting had been illegally closed, but a second meeting…