Avon v. Sastre

Citations

• 224 Conn. App. 155

Syllabus

Pursuant to statute (§ 1-200 (5)), '' '[p]ublic records or files' means any recorded data or information relating to the conduct of the public's business prepared, owned, used, received or retained by a public agency . . . .'' Pursuant further to statute (§ 1-210 (b)), ''[n]othing in the Freedom of Infor- mation Act shall be construed to require disclosure of . . . communica- tions privileged by the attorney-client relationship . . . .'' The plaintiffs, the town of Avon and its town manager, B, appealed from the judgment of the trial court dismissing their administrative appeal from the final decision of the defendant Freedom of Information Com- mission ordering the plaintiffs to disclose certain information to the defendant S pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (§ 1-200 et seq.). A managerial level town employee met with B to seek his guidance on how to handle certain work-related incidents and events involving the town's chief of police, R, that the employee had observed. Following that meeting, B contacted the town's attorney, who asked whether the employee had any documentation of those incidents. B subsequently contacted the employee, who confirmed that he had created a log detail- ing incidents occurring over the course of more than one year. The employee provided the log to B, who made a copy of the log, provided the copy to the town attorney, and returned the log to the employee. Pursuant to a memorandum from the town, R was placed on administra- tive leave, pending an investigation. Sometime thereafter, the town and R executed a severance agreement, and R retired from his position as chief of police. A few months later, S submitted a request that the town provide him with any and all records relating to the accusations concerning R. In response to this request, the plaintiffs provided S with a copy of the memorandum placing R on leave and the severance agreement; however, neither document included the reason behind the decision to place R on administ