Richmond settles whistleblower suit for $549,000 over records secrecy claims

Richmond’s $549,000 settlement with former public records officer Connie Clay is a costly reminder that secrecy can become expensive fast. City officials said they had already spent more than $670,000 defending the case, with a private law firm billing nearly $700,000 before the dispute reached trial. ([vpm.org](vpm.org/news/2026-04-10/rva-foia-lawsuit-connie-clay-odie-donald-ii-petula-burks-avula-stoney))

Clay served as Richmond’s Freedom of Information Act officer from July 2023 to January 2024 and filed her civil whistleblower lawsuit in March 2024. The complaint said she was told to withhold information requested under FOIA and was eventually silenced before she was fired for raising concerns about the city’s compliance with Virginia transparency law. Then-Mayor Levar Stoney and former city communications director Petula Burks were originally named as defendants, and Mayor Danny Avula later inherited the case. Clay had sought $250,000 in damages. ([vpm.org](vpm.org/news/2026-04-10/rva-foia-lawsuit-connie-clay-odie-donald-ii-petula-burks-avula-stoney))

The case sharpened after Richmond Circuit Court Judge Claire G. Cardwell faulted the city for a “reckless failure” to preserve a city-issued cell phone tied to Burks. Cardwell said the missing device could support an adverse instruction at a trial that had been scheduled for June 2026, meaning jurors could presume the lost evidence was unfavorable to the city. Cardwell also criticized the city’s lawyers for an apparent lack of candor, deepening the legal and public relations damage around the case. ([richmonder.org](richmonder.org/judge-rips-city-for-reckless-failure-to-preserve-phone-in-ex-foia-officers-lawsuit/))

Richmond officials said the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing, and Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald II said the city chose to end the litigation because continuing was not in the best financial interest of residents. Virginia FOIA requires most requests to be answered within five working days, although agencies can invoke an extension when they need more time. Clay’s complaint said Burks sometimes directed staff to tell requesters to expect a seven-day extension even when records could have been produced sooner. ([richmonder.org](richmonder.org/richmond-settles-lawsuit-by-former-foia-officer-without-disclosing-how-much-money-shell-get/))

On the North Slope, public access runs through a more visible set of doors. The borough clerk’s office says it serves as the central point of contact for information requested by the public, while the police department’s records form directs people to submit requests by mail, in person at any NSB police station, or by email, with copies charged at 50 cents a page. The Richmond fight shows what happens when records handling becomes a battleground instead of a routine public service: taxpayers absorb the legal bill, and trust in government takes the hit. ([north-slope.org](north-slope.org/departments/assembly-clerk/clerks-office/))