The city of Phoenix is withholding details about a private deal to renovate the Talking Stick Resort Arena—home of the Phoenix Suns—and the Goldwater Institute is joining with Kolodin Law Group PLLC to get answers, as part of its American Freedom Network of attorneys.
Kolodin Law and the Goldwater Institute represent Phoenix resident and downtown real estate developer Bramley Paulin, who submitted a public records request to the city of Phoenix last November, seeking information regarding the renovation of the arena. The city denied the request, maintaining that because the city had signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the Suns, certain studies and reports pertaining to the renovation of the Suns arena was not subject for public release.
But Arizona’s public records act does not have an exemption for NDAs signed by the government with a private third party. “The purpose of Arizona’s public records act is to preserve open and transparent government, but if government entities could hide information from public eyes by simply signing an NDA with a private third party, that would defeat the very purpose of the act,” says Phoenix attorney Alexander Kolodin. “A private agreement with a private company is not more important that the public’s right to know information pertaining to that agreement.”
Kolodin is a member of the Goldwater Institute’s American Freedom Network, which provides an opportunity for attorneys across the nation to lend their skills, expertise, and interests to the Institute’s efforts to defend freedom. Attorneys who are a part of the Network litigate cases, assist with legal research, write amicus briefs, represent clients at the administrative level, and serve as local counsel on a pro bono basis. Subject matters for this pro bono service include free speech, public records laws, school choice, economic liberty, public sector union reform, private property and taxpayer protection suits, among others.
“The submission of today’s complaint is the latest example of the important work the American Freedom Network is doing to defend individual rights in Arizona and across the country,” said Jon Riches, director of national litigation for the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation. “The diligent efforts of American Freedom Network attorneys give more people access to the representation they need and deserve, helping to push back against government overreach that occurs every day, making strides for liberty.”