The 2013 Bridgegate scandal continues to haunt the Christie administration. On Thursday, a state appeals court ruled that administration officials could face civil penalties for failing to release documents, requested by a newspaper group under the state's Open Public Records Act, related to the abrupt September 2013 closure of local access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed against the administration of Gov. Chris Christie by the North Jersey Media Group, the former parent company of The Record of Hackensack. The suit demanded documents related to the lane closures shortly after their suspicious nature came into focus. It was later discovered that the closures were orchestrated by a Christie aide and Port Authority officials as retaliation against Fort Lee's Democratic mayor, who refused to endorse Republican Christie's gubernatorial re-election bid that year.

Christie's aides initially claimed the closures were due to a traffic study. The Record began to file OPRA requests for emails, texts, letters and other documents related to the closures.