A New Jersey appeals court recently clarified what constitutes an “overbroad” request under the state’s Open Public Records Act. The OPRA request involved “EZ Pass benefits afforded to retirees of the Port Authority, including all … correspondence between the Office of the Governor … and the Port Authority.” While the
E-mail addresses could soon be a thing of the past when it comes to New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act. The state Assembly recently passed legislation (A-1280) that would include e-mail addresses in the list of confidential items to be redacted from public records under OPRA. OPRA currently provides a
A New Jersey appeals court recently ruled that a draft report prepared by staff within the New Jersey Department of Health concerning a hospital’s application for a certificate of need is exempt from disclosure under state’s Open Public Records Act. The court specifically found that the requested documents were fully
Hurricane Sandy has turned many New Jersey municipalities upside down. Although many are trying to conduct business as usual, routine tasks such as complying with requests under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act have often become more difficult. To address concerns, the New Jersey Government Records Council has issued an
The New Jersey Supreme Court has agreed to consider an Open Public Records Act case involving the law’s interplay with the attorney work-product privilege and common interest rule. The question before the court is whether these doctrines exempt documents from disclosure under OPRA. In O’Boyle v. Borough of Longport, Plaintiff Martin
Legislative efforts are underway in New Jersey to amend the state’s Open Public Records Act to bring the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey under its purview. The legislation (S-2292 and A-3400) follows the Appellate Division’s decision in Dittrich v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,
In many cases, records requested under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act are not physically located onsite. For instance, the records may be maintained at another agency or third party, with whom the public entity has a contractual agreement. However, as highlighted by the New Jersey Government Records Council in
In an interesting legal twist, the Borough of Pine Hill is seeking to shift liability for the release of confidential information to the individual who requested it under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act. The municipality has filed a motion to add the requester, John Schmidt, as a third-party defendant.
