Sussex County votes to reject state proposal, seeks production of final email string in Andover subacute records suit

A board member asked the Sussex County Board of Commissioners to authorize a letter rejecting the state's proposal to produce only one of two remaining email strings in litigation over records related to Andover Subacute during the COVID-19 pandemic. The board voted in favor of sending the letter and instructed staff to let the court decide the dispute.

According to the discussion recorded in the meeting transcript, county counsel or staff told commissioners the litigation had narrowed to two email strings; the state proposed to provide one and withhold the other as privileged. A board member said the withheld string appears to contain the most relevant material and asked the board to reject the state's proposal and request production of the second string. The motion to send a letter rejecting the state's offer was made, seconded and passed by voice vote. The transcript records the motion as carried.

Speakers noted the board has pursued records in response to a referendum and that commissioners do not believe the state should be allowed to withhold the final email string; the speaker who moved the motion said the matter should be left for the court to resolve if the state does not produce the material. The meeting record does not record a roll-call vote or the names of individual commissioners for this particular motion.