Alaska governor and political blogger agree to settle lawsuit
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The office of Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and a political blogger have agreed to settle a lawsuit over access to Dunleavy’s press conferences.
Under the terms of the agreement, the governor’s office agreed to pay $ 65,000 in attorney fees and costs. Jeff Landfield, owner of The Alaska Landmine website, said his attorneys will receive the full amount.
Landfield sued in December, alleging he was wrongly excluded from Dunleavy media events. Terms of the settlement were disclosed on Tuesday along with a file from state prosecutors seeking to close the case, The Anchorage Daily News reported.
The dismissal request was also signed by a lawyer for Landfield.
Under the deal, Landfield would be granted “the same access” to governors’ press conferences as other members of the media.
There has been no admission of liability or wrongdoing, and Dunleavy’s office and Landfield will endeavor to “issue a joint public statement regarding the amicable nature of this settlement.”
U.S. District Court Judge Joshua Kindred granted an injunction in January requiring Dunleavy to invite Landfield to press conferences. The state appealed, but the regulations would render that moot. The parties asked Kindred to sign the termination request.
Dunleavy’s press service in a tweet said the matter had been “settled to the mutual satisfaction of both parties. We are happy to say that this amicable settlement will put this dispute behind us. “