A judge has ruled in favor of the The Gaffney Ledger, which claimed under the S.C. Freedom of Information Act it was entitled to access to the Gaffney Board of Public Works' settlement with former commissioner Brenda Earls.

Circuit Court Judge Mark Hayes granted the newspaper's summary judgment motion Monday.

"There was no issue of fact. The court found as a matter of law that the material was public information," said the newspaper's attorney George Reeves.

Reeves said he expects the utility to release the settlement information shortly after it receives the court order.

BPW General Manager Donnie Hardin said Tuesday he has yet to be contacted by his attorneys, but said the utility will abide by the court order.

The Gaffney Ledger claimed it made a proper request for the information on March 29, 2006, and again on Aug. 2, 2006, and the utility failed or refused to respond to these requests within 15 days.

Reeves said terms of the settlement already ferreted out by the newspapers have been accurate.

In a story published in August 2006, The Ledger reported that "Earls will apparently receive a monthly insurance premium reimbursement until the 'death of the retiree (Brenda Earls) or her dependent spouse (Johnny Earls), whichever shall occur last,'" according to a document on file at the BPW. That document calls for the amount to increase by 3 percent effective January of each year. According to the schedule, the monthly reimbursement to Earls will begin in September 2006 at $690.52 and increase to $900.07 in 2016."

The Board did allow The Ledger to inspect some documents related to the settlement and those documents showed that Earls' attorney received a cash settlement of $55,000.

The utility also paid its attorney $61,834.52 in fees related to the suit.

Additionally, the Board paid $801.24 to a mediator in the case.

In its motion for summary judgment, the newspaper contended the BPW offered no evidence that the information sought by plaintiff is subject to exemption from disclosure under the FOI.

The utility agreed to the settlement with former commissioner Brenda Earls during its long-range planning workshop in January 2006. The agree ment contained a confidentiality clause, according to minutes from the workshop.

Earls filed suit against the utility in July 2004, accusing commissioners of applying the wrong law when they discontinued the policy of providing free insurance coverage to commissioners and their spouses after the retirement of the two-term commissioner who reached age 55.

The commissioners rescinded their free insurance coverage Dec. 2, 2003.

Earls' lawsuit claimed the Board breached its contract with her when it, in effect, reduced her compensation by rescinding its free insurance coverage.

Commissioners and BPW General Manager Donnie Hardin have said previously they had no problem releasing the settlement agreement, but that a confidentiality clause prohibits them from doing so.