The North Carolina Department of Commerce has agreed to pay Carolina Journal and the North Carolina Press Association $7,500 in legal expenses related to the lawsuit the two filed alleging Commerce failed to release in a timely manner the documents covering the state’s $242 million Dell Inc. incentives package. JLF board member Art Pope told the Raleigh News & Observer: “If a private company seeks or demands tax dollars, they should have to disclose what they plan to do with that money and why they need those tax dollars.” Pope was also quoted in an AP story, while in a CJ Exclusive, Richard Wagner discussed the importance of the decision to media and the public. “The payment establishes a precedent that should make it easier for anyone to get access to public records and to recover legal fees if they have to sue to get them.”