Allco Renewable Energy Ltd. v. Freedom of Information Commission

Citations

• 205 Conn. App. 144

Syllabus

The plaintiffs, a solar development company and its principal, appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court dismissing their appeal from the final decision of the defendant Freedom of Information Com- mission. The plaintiffs requested certain records from the defendant Department of Energy and Environmental Protection relating to its request for proposals issued to solicit offers from developers for large- scale clean energy contracts. The RFP indicated that each bidder was to submit a public version of its proposal, with any confidential business information redacted, as well as an unredacted version of the proposal that identified all confidential and proprietary information. The RFP informed bidders that the department would disclose certain information in its final determination but that it would take reasonable steps to protect confidential information. The department retained independent consultants to evaluate the costs and benefits of the proposals submitted using a market simulation model. The result of the analysis was an answer key that compiled the data submitted by the bidders, including confidential, proprietary information. The department denied the plain- tiffs' request for the release of the answer key, stating that it was a trade secret exempt from disclosure requirements pursuant to the applicable provision (§ 1-210 (b) (5)) of the Freedom of Information Act (§ 1-200 et seq.). The plaintiffs appealed from the department's denial to the commission, which, following a hearing, denied the appeal. The plaintiffs then appealed to the trial court, which affirmed the decision of the commission, and the plaintiffs appealed to this court. Held: 1. The trial court properly determined that the commission's conclusion that the answer key met the trade secret criteria set forth in § 1-210 (b) (5) (A) (i) was supported by substantial evidence: the department engaged in trade by coordinating the RFP and using the answer key to analyze the proposal