Swindle et al. v. Remington

Sarah Swindle, Bill Newton, Young Boozer, Philip Cleveland, Susan Williams Brown, Richard Brown, Joe Ward, Luke Hallmark, Susan Lockridge, Russell Twilley, John R. Whaley, Charlene McCoy, C. Ray Hayes, and Donald Large, Jr., in their official capacities as board members of the Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Program ("PEEHIP"), appealed the grant of summary judgment entered in favor of Sheila Hocutt Remington, acting personally and as then president of the Alabama Education Association ("the AEA"). Specifically, the members of the PEEHIP Board ("the Board") challenged the circuit court's determination they violated the Alabama Open Meetings Act, and its judgment granting Remington declaratory and injunctive relief. After review of the record, the Alabama Supreme Court concluded that, at least to the extent the circuit court ordered injunctive relief beginning from the effective date of the superseding rate adjustments on or after May 1, 2018, and proceeding prospectively, Remington's request for injunctive relief was moot. The issues related to the premium surcharge increases between October 1, 2016, and May 1, 2018, however, remained ripe for review. To the extent the circuit court determined that the Board violated the Open Meetings Act by conducting the morning session in private, the Supreme Court agreed: under the circumstances of this case, it was clear to the Court there was only one "meeting" as that term was defined by 36-25A-2(6)a, which began during a closed morning session and continued during the open afternoon session. The Court further concluded the closed morning session of the meeting did not meet exceptions to the definition of a meeting required to be open to the public set forth in 36- 25A-2(6)b. The invalidation provision of 36-25A-9(f) did not apply, because it was clear the violation occurred during the full-day meeting and there was no genuine issue demonstrating that the invalidation of the Board's action would unduly prejudice third parties who relied upon the challenged action. Accordingly, with respect to the issues that remained ripe for review, the Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court's judgment. View "Swindle et al. v. Remington" on Justia Law