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o0 <br /> LEAGUE OF CONNECTING & INNOVATING <br /> MINNESOTA SINCE 1913 <br /> CITIES <br /> RISK MANAGEMENT INFORMATION <br /> OPEN MEETING LAW DEFENSE COVERAGE <br /> Open Meeting Law(OML)defense coverage will be a standard feature of LMCIT's <br /> Property/Casualty coverage beginning Nov. 15,2009. This coverage reimburses city officials <br /> 100 percent of legal costs they may incur if they are charged with violating the law. <br /> Who is covered by the OML defense cost reimbursement coverage? <br /> Any elected or appointed official or employee of the city is covered.Excluded from the coverage— <br /> unless specifically named in the coverage policy are officials or employees of a utilities <br /> commission,port authority,HRA,EDA, redevelopment authority,municipal power or gas agency, <br /> hospital or nursing home board,airport commission,or joint powers board. <br /> What does it cover? <br /> The OML defense coverage will reimburse a city official for 100 percent of the defense cost <br /> incurred by the city official in defending an OML lawsuit to a maximum of$50,000.This is the <br /> most LMCIT will reimburse any one city official for defense costs for()MI,suits during the <br /> coverage term,regardless of the number of suits or the number of actual alleged violations. <br /> What doesn't it cover? <br /> There are two major types of costs that will not be reimbursed to the official: <br /> 1. Any fine or penalty for violating the OML. <br /> 2. Any award that orders the city official to pay for the opposing party's attorney's fees. <br /> As an example,suppose a newspaper is successful in bringing an OML claim against a city <br /> official. The judge awards a$300 penalty against the official and also orders the official to pay the <br /> attorneys fees incurred by the newspaper in bringing the claim. The coverage would not pay or <br /> reimburse the penalty or the attorneys fees awarded. <br /> In addition,this coverage would not cover any legal costs the city might incur if the city itself were <br /> somehow made a party to the OML litigation;unless, of course,it was part of a suit that included a <br /> covered claim for damages. <br /> Would this coverage protect a city official who is accused of attending an illegal <br /> meeting of some other board or commission, other than the city council? <br /> Yes. For example, suppose a city official is accused of violating the OML at a meeting of a joint <br /> powers board the official serves on. The city's OML coverage would apply to that charge, but it <br /> would not pay for defending the other members of the board. Unless the joint powers board has <br /> LEAGUE OF MINNESOTA CITIES 145 UNIVERSITY AVE.WEST PHONE:(651)281-1200 Not:(651)281-1298 <br /> INSURANCE TRUST ST. PAUL.MN 55 1 03-204 4 TOLL FREE:(800)925-1122 WEO:WWWLMCORG <br />