Upper Pottsgrove Township officials have filed a civil complaint seeking a court injunction to prevent Matt Murray, who sued to block a township complex from being built on Smola Farm, from filing any more Right to Know requests. According to the court papers signed by Commissioners Chair Trace Slinkerd, township resident Murray has filed 100 Right to Know (RTK) requests with the township since 2022, an act the filing says is “an apparent desire to hamper the township’s financial and professional resources.” According to the township press release, the civil complaint seeks “a preliminary and permanent injunction to prevent further [Right to Know Law] filings by Murray or those acting on his behalf” and a court determination that Murray’s actions constitute an abuse of the RTK process. The release also notes that “all Upper Pottsgrove commissioners supported this legal action.” But according to Commissioner Cathy Paretti, the legal action matter was never taken to a public vote and both she and Commissioner Dave Waldt “never agreed or voted for this legal action.” It is not the first time the township has filed suit against Murray. A defamation suit was filed against him and attorney Kate Harper in connection with an opinion column Harper wrote that was published in The Mercury about “letters warning people not to speak out at public meetings.” The commissioners refuted the claims in a response, published in the Mercury in May 2024. That suit has currently amassed $12,000 in legal fees. Find out more about Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law here.
Source: Pottstown Mercury; 1/11/2025