By VICTOR SKINNER
BEULAH -- A judge dismissed a local man's lawsuit over access to documents surrounding the termination of a Benzie County-based state Department of Human Services employee.
Beulah resident Eric VanDussen filed a state Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the state in January after DHS denied parts of his request for documents detailing the department's investigation of former employee Elaine Saffron, who was fired in February.
DHS argued the documents were exempt from public disclosure laws because of the internal investigation, a position that was upheld Tuesday when Benzie County Judge James M. Batzer dismissed the case.
"What the judge ruled is that DHS was acting in a law enforcement capacity while they were conducting the internal investigation of Elaine Saffron because they were determining whether she had illegally obtained food stamps and other property," said VanDussen, who plans to submit a new FOIA request for the same information now that the investigation is complete.
Batzer denied the state's motion that requested VanDussen pay its legal expenses to defend his lawsuit.
Saffron, 50, avoided criminal charges when Benzie County Prosecutor Anthony Cicchelli last summer dropped two misdemeanor theft charges against her for allegedly stealing a laptop computer from the county's government center, where she worked.
The state paid Saffron, of Interlochen, more than $54,000 in wages and benefits, including two pay raises, during the worker's nearly 16-month suspension amid DHS's internal investigation.
She was fired Feb. 1 for numerous "work rule" violations, including violation of state Internet and e-mail policy, improper release of confidential information, conduct unbecoming of a state employee and other violations.
The Michigan Attorney General's office defended DHS's FOIA response at the recent hearing, and Batzer's ruling came as no surprise, said Matt Frendewey, spokesman for the attorney general.
"We were confident we had a strong case going in and the judge agreed with us," Frendewey said.
VanDussen plans to file a motion for reconsideration because "FOIA prescribes ... they have to provide a particularized itemization of what documents they are withholding," he said.
"That never happened and my motion for reconsideration will include that argument," he said.
Saffron, meanwhile, appealed her termination and is scheduled for a grievance hearing July 23, said Colleen Steinman, DHS spokeswoman.
