In the case of Axelrod v. Dept. of Commerce, 2019-Ohio-1820, the Ohio Court of Claims adopted a special master’s report and recommendation (2019-Ohio-1821) finding that a public records request seeking any and all copies of files, documents, and communications “relating to” an entity that worked with a public office was overly broad.
In this case, a requester made a public records request seeking any and all files, documents, and communications relating to services provided by a financial advisory corporation to the Ohio Department of Commerce. The special master found that “the standards for a proper public records request are distinctly different from the standards for” litigation and that an “officewide search for records containing information ‘regarding or related to’ an agency” is improper. Axelrod, 2019-Ohio-1821 at ¶ 4. Accordingly, the special master found that the request in this case was “ambiguous or overly broad [where] it identifies correspondents only as belonging to titles, groups, or categories, for which research by the office is required.” Axelrod, 2019-Ohio-1821 at ¶ 6.
To read the special master’s report and recommendation, click here.
To read the court of claim’s entry adopting the recommendations of the special master, click here.
Authors: Matthew John Markling and the McGown & Markling Team.
Note: This blog entry does not constitute – nor does it contain – legal advice. Legal jurisprudence is like the always changing Midwestern weather. As a result, this single blog entry cannot substitute for consultation with a McGown & Markling attorney. If legal advice is needed with respect to a specific factual situation, please feel free to contact a McGown & Markling attorney.