PORT ALLEN — Officials in West Baton Rouge have filed a lawsuit against the founder of a local news outlet following disputes over fees for public records requests.

In March, the West Baton Rouge Parish government sued John Summers, the editor and main reporter for the West Baton Rouge Independent, who claimed the suit was caused by his investigative reporting into the West Baton Rouge Fire Department. Following the suit, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press countersued the parish.

The parish's lawsuit requested that the court confirm the parish's procedures for handling public records requests and that the fees associated with them are reasonable. Until Wednesday, the parish also requested that a judge prohibit Summers from submitting additional public records requests.

West Baton Rouge Parish previously began charging $1 per page for the first 25 pages of public records requests, with the following pages costing 50 cents. For a request generating 25 pages, West Baton Rouge Parish residents would pay $25, while a similar request to the state would cost $6.25, a four-fold increase.

According to The Advocate, the case was heard on Wednesday in the 18th Judicial District Court. The parish suggested that Summers' record requests were driven by personal feelings because he was previously fired as a West Baton Rouge volunteer firefighter for allegedly refusing to respond to structure fires in May 2025, the same month he started The Independent. 

The Reporters Committee argued that the parish violated public records laws by not telling Summers the cost of the records he requested, as well as charging him for the records despite his never receiving them. 

Summers allegedly requested financial records from the fire department in July, with the Ingram Law Firm, which represents the department, responding two days later, saying fees could cost over $1,500. Summers was later told that his request was ready and would cost $83. Upon questioning the dramatic decrease in the fee, Summers refused to pay it and said he would seek legal counsel.

In January, Summers requested additional public records in relation to a fire, for which he paid a fee of about $50 after receiving the records.

According to The Advocate, around that time, West Baton Rouge Fire Chief Butch Browning contacted Summers about the $83 from his previous request before waiving the fee. Browning explained that under public records law, they were not required to respond to new requests while outstanding balances remained.

Summers requested records in March related to another fire, where he was told the records would cost $121.50.

He refused to pay the fee, saying they were already in an electronic format and instead asked to inspect physical copies.

Summers was then contacted, asking for available dates to inspect the records; however, on the same day, the parish filed a lawsuit. Summers was notified of the lawsuit and that a separate public records request was rejected, saying that the parish would not respond to new requests until an official court ruling is reached.