ATLANTA (AP) — A judge has rejected an attempt by the state of Georgia and a local development agency to force people who unsuccessfully sued to block an electric vehicle plant to pay the government's legal fees.

State government and the development authority demanded that six Morgan County property owners who challenged the zoning for Rivian Automotive pay more than $337,000 in legal fees incurred by the government.

Morgan County Superior Court Judge Stephen Bradley, in a ruling filed Friday, said that the two lawsuits where the government agencies were seeking fees were far from frivolous, and that awarding legal fees to the government could make it harder for regular citizens to exercise their rights to challenge government actions in court.

“No truly aggrieved citizen should be proh

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