‘Stood up to Goliath and won.’ Reporter gets access to Michigan’s COVID nursing home death data
https://justthenews.com/nation/states/le...me-foia-lawsuit
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie LeDuff reaches settlement with Whitmer administration in FOIA lawsuit.
By The Center Square Staff
By Scott McClallen
Updated: May 22, 2021 - 7:11am


Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie LeDuff has reached a settlement with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to gain access to data on the number of COVID-19 nursing home deaths in the state.

The health department agreed to release some of the public records LeDuff requested. The department also acknowledges it can’t determine if some patients killed by COVID-19 contracted the virus at a nursing home or other long-term care facility.

LeDuff sued March 9 after submitting a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for data on COVID-19 deaths but the MDHHS failed to produce the requested records. The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation represented him.

“We stood up to Goliath and won,” LeDuff said in a statement. “While I'm pleased that some of the records were released, the state's overall response is alarming and disappointing. Still, this is a win for the people of Michigan, and I'm glad this lawsuit was able to shed some light.”-- excerpt, rest at link above --