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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels September 1, 2004 Senator says SAIF executives must pay fines The Associated Press SALEM - A state senator from Eugene is calling on SAIF Corp. executives to pay more than $1 million in potential fines for contempt of court. The state-owned workers' compensation insurer faces the fines for discarding e-mails and other records SAIF officials had deemed insignificant. That was in violation of a court order by Marion County Judge Paul Lipscomb. Democratic Sen. Vicki Walker, a longtime SAIF critic, said current and past SAIF executives should pay the fines - not taxpayers or policy holders. The source of the money to pay the fines is unclear. Walker asked the Office of Legislative Council this week to decide whether SAIF executives who took part in withholding documents could be held liable for the fines. Laws protecting public officials from personal liability in lawsuits against state agencies might not apply, she said. "They didn't appear to be acting within the scope and course of their duties because they were obstructing justice," Walker told the Statesman Journal. During a three-day hearing before Lipscomb earlier this month, SAIF leaders testified that they made good faith efforts to produce voluminous records sought by Portland lawyer John DiLorenzo. Lipscomb in 2001 ordered SAIF to release the records to DiLorenzo, who's being paid by Sound Economic Policy Inc. The group is funded by Liberty Northwest of Portland, SAIF's main competitor in Oregon. Liberty is also bankrolling an initiative campaign to abolish SAIF. Lipscomb plans to discuss SAIF's progress in meeting the court order on Sept. 13. Lipscomb could revise, or even lift, the penalties against the insurer. Kevin Neely, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Justice, said that the individual culpability of SAIF executives was not an issue in the judge's contempt order. Court settlements and judgments against state agencies usually are paid by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services, which maintains a fund for such contingencies. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams