48 results for 'cat:"Government" AND cat:"Public Record"'.
J. Reyes affirms the district court's dismissal of the data requesters' action seeking data related to election procedures from a county director of property tax and elections. The director is a designee, not the responsible authority, for the relevant data under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, and therefore was not a proper defendant for this case. The district court also did not err in dismissing the case without joining the responsible authority as a defendant, nor in dismissing the requesters' request for a declaratory judgment as to whether the county's procedures complied with the Act. It also did not err in determining that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over a count seeking a prohibition of the use of modems in voting machines, since the requesters did not comply with relevant service requirements. Affirmed.
Court: Minnesota Court Of Appeals, Judge: Reyes, Filed On: December 18, 2023, Case #: A23-0302, Categories: Elections, government, public Record
J. Furman finds the newspaper is entitled to an audio copy of the Aurora city council's executive session because the public received insufficient notice about the meeting, which also included an official action in the form of a roll call vote to censure a member for comments made on a public radio station. Although the city discussed legal advice with its attorneys during the session, it waived attorney-client privilege when it attempted to correct the open meetings violations at the next council meeting and produced an agenda from the executive session. Reversed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Furman, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: 2023COA118, Categories: government, public Record, Privilege
J. Kennelly splits competing summary judgment motions between a Northwestern University professor pursuing FOIA requests, and several U.S. government agencies seeking to block those FOIA requests. The professor is conducting research into the government’s practice of deporting its own citizens and in pursuit of that research filed FOIA requests with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Department of Justice, and the Executive Office for Immigration Review. The agencies didn’t respond to several of these requests, so he filed suit. The court partially resolves the dispute by dismissing the DOJ and DHS as defendants, ordering the remaining agencies to provide some the information the professor requested, while allowing them to withhold other information. The court will also allow the professor to replead her case for several of the FOIA requests the court denied in this ruling.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Kennelly, Filed On: October 2, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv5072, NOS: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) - Other Suits, Categories: government, Immigration, public Record
J. Kennedy finds that while this court previously remanded an individual's case to the appeals court with instructions to provide further analysis of his Open Meetings Act claims, the appeals court properly granted the board of commissioner's motion to dismiss because the petitioner had already obtained relief in the form of certain public documents, while the allegedly unlawful consent agenda was no longer used by the board, which mooted the claim. However, the appeals court erroneously reopened the question of whether the board's initial actions violated the Act, and so the case will again be remanded to allow for analysis of whether he is entitled to statutory damages. Affirmed in part.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Kennedy, Filed On: September 26, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3382, Categories: government, public Record, Damages
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio denies a teacher's request to compel the production of documents related to an incident of suspected child abuse because there is no indication the call screen log was ever produced by the police department during the investigation into another teacher at the school. Meanwhile, the petitioner is not entitled to statutory damages under the Ohio Public Records Act because the initial redactions in the records were made to protect the identity of a possible suspect.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: September 19, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3285, Categories: government, public Record, Damages
J. Vyskocil grants a government office’s motion for summary judgment in this matter concerning materials requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A law firm that brings civil actions on behalf of American victims of terrorism requested information on three entities from the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the the United States Department of Treasury (OFAC). The materials provided to that law were were heavily redacted, and the some documents were withheld altogether with OFAC citing multiple FOIA exemptions and national security as the reason. The law firm argues OFAC inadvertently disclosed that it withheld two publicly available press releases, and the law firm contends OFAC does not understand and potentially misapplied FOIA exemptions. The instant court finds the law firm’s arguments lack merit, and finds that OFAC’s redactions and withholdings are supported by confidential affidavits.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Vyskocil, Filed On: September 12, 2023, Case #: 1:19cv405, NOS: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) - Other Suits, Categories: government, public Record
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds the court of appeals properly granted the union's request for a writ of mandamus and statutory damages following a city's refusal to provide certain requested records. The union's request for all emails exchanged between two specific city employees over a specific period of time satisfied particularity requirements of the Ohio Public Records Act and required the city to promptly provide the requested information. Affirmed in part.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: September 7, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3112, Categories: government, public Record, Damages
J. Ecker finds the lower court properly upheld the Freedom of Information Commission's order requiring the department of mental health services to provide certain investigative documents to the media outlet. Although the documents were related to a patient, they did not deal with the diagnosis or treatment of any disorder and, therefore, were not exempt from disclosure. The police report requested by the media after the patient's death was not part of the patient's clinical file, and while certain sensitive personal information and names of other patients are required to be redacted, the report is not a privileged communication and was properly disclosed. Affirmed in part.
Court: Connecticut Supreme Court, Judge: Ecker, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: SC20686, Categories: government, public Record, Privilege
J. Donnelly finds that the lower court properly granted the nonprofit housing organization's petition for a writ of mandamus to compel the production of certain documents from Ohio Fair Plan because the agency is a "public office" under the Ohio Public Records Act. Although it does not perform a governmental function, Ohio Fair Plan was created by the legislature and handles administrative appeals regarding housing insurance, which renders it a public office subject to the type of records requests made by the nonprofit. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Donnelly, Filed On: August 3, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2667, Categories: government, public Record, Housing
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds that the lower court properly dismissed the petitioner's request for the production of unredacted documents from the law firm because the invoices sent to the township board of trustees were protected from disclosure under attorney-client privilege. The lower court conducted an in-camera inspection of the documents to ensure they were protected from disclosure, and because the petitioner cannot rebut the results of that inspection, he is not entitled to a writ of mandamus.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: August 3, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2668, Categories: government, public Record, Privilege
J. Baker finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the Texas Attorney General in a public information case concerning the cell phone records belonging to members of a school district’s board of trustees. Official school district business conducted over cell phone communication is subject to the Texas Public Information act and must be released. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Baker, Filed On: July 13, 2023, Case #: 03-22-00052-CV, Categories: Communications, government, public Record
J. Childs finds the district court properly dismissed three environmental groups' challenge to a rule by a government-based finance company's creation of a rule that exempts it from reporting its transcripts, minutes and other information from its meetings. The Sunshine Act does not apply to the company because a majority of its board members are appointed to other positions and serve ex officio. Affirmed.
Court: DC Circuit, Judge: Childs, Filed On: July 7, 2023, Case #: 22-5095 , Categories: Corporations, government, public Record
J. Lehrmann finds that the court of appeals improperly ruled in favor of the University of Texas in a public information case filed by a media organization seeking documents related to a relationship between the university and a law firm that was hired by the institution to handle an external investigation. After the court of appeals ruled that the documents must be released, the university appealed, arguing that they were protected under attorney-client privilege. The university hired the law firm for legal services, thus the documents detailing the investigation and relationship are protected from disclosure. Reversed.
Court: Texas Supreme Court, Judge: Lerhmann, Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 21-0534, Categories: government, public Record, Privilege
J. Chun denies summary judgment to the U.S. Department of Justice for the nonprofit organization's claim that the department improperly invoked exemption 6 in redacting the alleged tortfeasors’ names who are Drug Enforcement Administration employees, which relates to the nonprofit's FOIA request seeking disclosure of records of “all litigation against the [DEA] and/or its employees or agents where the [DEA] and/or its insurers paid $1,000 or more to resolve claims.” Revealing the alleged tortfeasors' names would not constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy when weighed against the significant interests favoring disclosure.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Chun, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv674, NOS: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) - Other Suits, Categories: government, public Record, Discovery
J. Jones finds the trial court improperly ruled against the individual in his Texas Public Information Act lawsuit against the University of Texas. The individual sufficiently establishes that the documents he requested are public information, thereby waiving the university’s claim to governmental immunity. Reversed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Jones, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: 03-22-00196-CV, Categories: government, public Record, Immunity
J. Boasberg partially grants the press access to records related to the grand jury subpoena of former Vice President Pence related to an investigation into the transfer of power following the 2020 election. Proper redaction will preserve grand jury secrecy, and the requested information, once redacted, will not reveal leads to other witnesses or evidence.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Boasberg, Filed On: June 9, 2023, Case #: 1:23mc35, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Elections, government, public Record