Judge dismisses records lawsuit against State Treasurer Richard Moore, a Shanahan Law Group client

WRAL.com, July 21, 2008

RALEIGH, N.C. — A trial court judge has dismissed a public records lawsuit against State Treasurer Richard Moore alleging he withheld documents about the pensions he runs.

Superior Court Judge Jim Hardin entered the dismissal motion Monday in Wake County court.

The State Employees Association of North Carolina accused Moore of failing to comply fully with records requests for information about the pension fund. But Moore said his office provided more than 2,000 pages of records – all of the documents that the group had asked to receive – and called the lawsuit politically motivated because it was filed in the middle of his campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, which he lost to Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue.

“It is unfortunate that SEANC’s tactics scared retirees about the security of the second best pension fund in the nation. North Carolinians can rest assured that our pension fund remains strong and secure,” Moore said in a statement.

Hardin dismissed the lawsuit because he wrote the group failed to provide facts that support a claim meriting relief.

Moore’s lawyer last month accused an association attorney of offering a bribe to drop the lawsuit. The group called the accusation preposterous.

“This is not the first time SEANC has had to overcome adversity at the North Carolina Superior Court level regarding state employees’ retirement security,” SEANC Executive Director Dana Cope said in a statement.

The group’s board of director will meet to decide whether to appeal Hardin’s ruling.