SWB Yankees appeals ruling to Supreme Court
By CHARLES SCHILLINGER | The [Scranton]
Times-Tribune Staff Writer
The management company for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees has appealed to the state Supreme Court a ruling that ordered it to make public its records on concessions.
SWB Yankees LLC wants the state's highest court to overturn a Commonwealth Court ruling that found the Right to Know Law applies to a company contracted to manage the publicly owned baseball team.
The Times-Tribune requested the records in January 2009 and has won an administrative appeal from the Office of Open Records and appeals at the Lackawanna County Court and Commonwealth Court levels.
The dispute surrounds a concessions contract awarded to Legends Hospitality Management, a company co-owned by the New York Yankees. Legends was selected by SWB Yankees LLC, the management partnership co-owned by the New York Yankees and Mandalay Baseball Properties.
SWB Yankees has refused to release documentation related to the bidding of the contract, which could reveal whether taxpayers are getting the best deal.
SWB Yankees filed a petition for allowance of appeal with the state Supreme Court on Aug. 20. The petition doesn't guarantee the court will hear the case.
J. Timothy Hinton Jr., who represents The Times-Tribune, said "SWB is batting zero-for-three at this."
"The petition for allowance is really a rehash of the same argument that SWB has made on three prior occasions," he said. "I believe the Supreme Court will have no problem in affirming the lower court's decision."
Team President Kristen Rose declined to comment on the appeal.
SWB Yankees has argued its role as a team manager is a proprietary role, not a "governmental function." Records of a vendor to a public agency - in this case, the Lackawanna County Multi-Purpose Stadium Authority - are public when related to the governmental function it is performing for the agency, according to the 2009 Right to Know Law. SWB Yankees has been contracted by the stadium authority to manage PNC Field and the triple-A franchise.
There are seven other pending cases before the state Supreme Court related to the 2009 Right to Know Law.
The management company for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees has appealed to the state Supreme Court a ruling that ordered it to make public its records on concessions.
SWB Yankees LLC wants the state's highest court to overturn a Commonwealth Court ruling that found the Right to Know Law applies to a company contracted to manage the publicly owned baseball team.
The Times-Tribune requested the records in January 2009 and has won an administrative appeal from the Office of Open Records and appeals at the Lackawanna County Court and Commonwealth Court levels.
The dispute surrounds a concessions contract awarded to Legends Hospitality Management, a company co-owned by the New York Yankees. Legends was selected by SWB Yankees LLC, the management partnership co-owned by the New York Yankees and Mandalay Baseball Properties.
SWB Yankees has refused to release documentation related to the bidding of the contract, which could reveal whether taxpayers are getting the best deal.
SWB Yankees filed a petition for allowance of appeal with the state Supreme Court on Aug. 20. The petition doesn't guarantee the court will hear the case.
J. Timothy Hinton Jr., who represents The Times-Tribune, said "SWB is batting zero-for-three at this."
"The petition for allowance is really a rehash of the same argument that SWB has made on three prior occasions," he said. "I believe the Supreme Court will have no problem in affirming the lower court's decision."
Team President Kristen Rose declined to comment on the appeal.
SWB Yankees has argued its role as a team manager is a proprietary role, not a "governmental function." Records of a vendor to a public agency - in this case, the Lackawanna County Multi-Purpose Stadium Authority - are public when related to the governmental function it is performing for the agency, according to the 2009 Right to Know Law. SWB Yankees has been contracted by the stadium authority to manage PNC Field and the triple-A franchise.
There are seven other pending cases before the state Supreme Court related to the 2009 Right to Know Law.