Hicks v. Newtown

Citations

• 2017 Ohio 8952

Syllabus

Core Terms: public record court of claims R.C. 2743.75 R.C. 149.43 ambiguous overly broad kept person responsible functional equivalent actual use contract. Overview: Requester sought certain funding records relating to a joint venture between respondent village and a private school to construct athletic facilities on public property. Respondent claimed that any responsive records were in the possession of the private school, and thus not records of the village. The special master found that the portions of the request seeking \transparent information\ regarding donors and an unidentified loan were ambiguous, and overly broad, and therefore should be dismissed as improper requests. The special master found that documents the village mayor said were presented to him as contractual assurance of the school's financial resources were utilized by the village to document its functions, decisions, procedures, and operations under the contract, and were therefore \records.\ The special master found that by law and the terms of the contract, the private school maintained these records for the village as a \person responsible for public records.\ The special master recommended that the village be ordered to provide requester with the records used by the village.