FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT
In the Matter of a Complaint
by Final Decision
Eileen McGann,
Complainant
against Docket
#FIC 95-194
City of Waterbury,
Respondent April 24, 1996
The above-captioned matter was heard as a contested
case on December 18, 1995, at which time the complainant and the respondent
appeared and presented testimony, exhibits and argument on the complaint.
After consideration of the entire record, the
following facts are found and conclusions of law are reached:
1. The
respondent is a public agency within the meaning of 1-18a(a), G.S.
2. It
is found that by letter dated May 18, 1995, and received by the respondent on
May 22, 1995, the complainant requested that she be provided with copies of all
documents concerning the payment of attorneys' fees to any attorney or law firm
for any legal work performed on behalf of the respondent in eight specified
lawsuits ("May request").
3. Specifically,
the records which the complainant is seeking, include, but are not limited to,
retainer letters, fee letters, contracts, vouchers, invoices, bills, canceled
checks and reimbursement vouchers ("payment records").
4. By
letter of complaint dated June 7, 1995, and filed with this Commission on June 9,
1995, the complainant alleged that the respondent failed to comply with her May
request for payment records.
5. It
is found that the payment records at issue are public records within the
meaning of 1-18a(d) and 1-19(a), G.S.
6. The
respondent concedes that it did not acknowledge or respond in writing to the
complainant's May request, rather it attempted to locate and retrieve all
responsive payment records.
Docket #FIC 95-194 Page
Two
7. The
respondent claims that seven of the eight lawsuits identified in the
complainant's request are still pending as of the date of this hearing, and
therefore the payment records concerning those lawsuits are exempt from
disclosure pursuant to 1-19(b)(4), G.S.
8. Specifically,
the respondent maintains that each of the eight lawsuits are interrelated and
as a result, outside counsel's method of billing makes it impossible to
segregate hourly billing information from information pertaining to strategy
and negotiation of the pending claims.
9. Section
1-19(b)(4), G.S., provides that disclosure shall not be required of
"records pertaining to strategy and negotiations with respect to pending
claims or pending litigation to which the public agency is a party until such
litigation or claim has been finally adjudicated or otherwise settled
...."
10. The
respondent submitted billing records, totalling one hundred twenty-five pages
and numbered "1" through "125", to the Commission for in
camera inspection pursuant to 1-21j-35(f) of the Commission's regulations.
11. The
respondent failed to cite any statutory exemption to disclosure for the subject
in camera documents numbered "55" through "99". Therefore, those billing records are subject
to full disclosure in accordance with the provisions of 1-15 and
1-19(a), G.S.
12. After
conducting an in camera inspection of the billing records it is found that only
portions of specific pages of the billing records submitted for in camera
review pertain to "strategy and negotiation" within the meaning of
1-19(b)(4), G.S.
13. Therefore,
it is found that the following billing records or portions thereof are
nonexempt records subject to the disclosure provisions of 1-15 and
1-19(a), G.S. In camera document:
(1) pages
numbered 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 55 through 99, 124 and 125: disclose the
entire page/document;
(2) page
3: disclose all except the three words following "research" on line
27 of this page;
(3) page
4: disclose all except lines 25-27;
(4) page
5: disclose all except lines 23-24;
Docket #FIC 95-194 Page
Three
(5) page
11: disclose all except lines 22-24, and 26-28;
(6) page
14: disclose all except lines 19-22, 26, 31, 33-36;
(7) page
15: disclose all except lines 21-22, 24-25, 27-30, 32-42;
(8) page
16: disclose all except lines 18-19, 21-24, 28-29, and 33-35; on line 20 redact
the word following "of";
(9) page
17: disclose all except lines 10, 15-19, 26, 34, and 36;
(10) page
18: disclose all except lines 10-17, 19-20, 31, 34-35, 41-43;
(11) page
19: disclose all except lines 16, 26, and 33;
(12) page
20: disclose all except lines 9-20, and 36-39;
(13) page
21: disclose all except lines 10-18, 20-24, 28-29, 31-37, and 39-43;
(14) page
22: disclose all except lines 11-17, 21-24, 26-32, and 34-43;
(15) page
23: disclose all except lines 16-17, 21-23, 25, 27, and 29-41;
(16) page
24: disclose all except lines 10-21, 23-32, and 34-39;
(17) page
25: disclose all except lines 9-15, 20-27, 29-31, 35-36, and 39-40;
(18) page
26: disclose all except lines 10-11, 13-16, 23-25, and 27-39;
(19) page
27: disclose all except lines 9, 11-12, 14-15, 18-24, 29-30, 34, and 37-39;
(20) page
28: disclose all except lines 10-12, 14-16, 19-20, 22-24, 27-29, 31-32, 34, and
37-40;
Docket #FIC 95-194 Page
Four
(21) page
29: disclose all except lines 10-11, 13, 19-20, 23-24, 28-30, 32, 34-38, and
41-44;
(22) page
30: disclose all except lines 10-14, 16, 27-28, 30-32, and 35-36;
(23) page
31: disclose all except lines 12-22, 28-29, and 31-41;
(24) page
32: disclose all except lines 10, 12, 15, 17-23, 26-34, 36-37, and 39-42;
(25) page
33: disclose all except lines 9, 12-14, 17-19, 21-25, 27-29, 31-33, 36, and
38-39;
(26) page
34: disclose all except lines 24-36;
(27) page
35: disclose all except lines 19-20, 22-23, 27-28, and 30-32;
(28) page
36: disclose all except lines 10-12, 14, 23, 28-30, 33, and 35-36;
(29) page
37: disclose only lines 1-8, and 10;
(30) page
38: disclose only lines 1-10, 19, 21, 26, 29, 35, and 38;
(31) page
39: disclose only lines 1-9, 15, 18, 23, and 35;
(32) page
40: disclose only lines 1-9, 12, and 22;
(33) page
41: disclose only lines 1-9, 14, 18, 22, 26, 28, 30, and 33;
(34) page
42: disclose only lines 1-9, 12, 14, 17, 21, 24, 27, 29, and 32;
(35) page
43: disclose only lines 1-9, 14-15, 19, 23, and 26;
(36) page
44: disclose only lines 1-9, 14, 19, 22, 25, 29, 32, and 36;
(37) page
45: disclose only lines 1-8, 12, 24, 28, and 34;
(38) page
46: disclose only lines 1-9, 15, 18, 29, and 38;
Docket #FIC 95-194 Page
Five
(39) page
47: disclose only lines 1-9, 16, 26, 28, 30, 33, and 36-37;
(40) page
48: disclose only lines 1-9, 12, 14, 17, 20, and 27;
(41) page
49: disclose only lines 1-10, 14, 16, 19, 23, 30 and 35;
(42) page
50: disclose only lines 1-9, 12, 25, 30, and 33;
(43) page
51: disclose only lines 1-8, 11, 13, 17, 23, 30, and 32;
(44) page
52: disclose only lines 1-9, 17, 20, 26, 32, 35, and 36;
(45) page
53: disclose only lines 1-9, 12, 22, and 25;
(46) page
54: disclose all except line 15;
(47) page
100: disclose all except lines 9 and 34;
(48) page
101: disclose only lines 1-9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 23-25, 28, and 31;
(49) page
102: disclose only lines 1-8, 11, 13, 17, 19, 21, 26, 28, and 35-39;
(50) page
103: disclose only lines 1-9, 12, 14-15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 26, 32, and 34;
(51) page
104: disclose only lines 1-9, 12-13, 17, 20, 22, 24, 27, 30, and 32-33;
(52) page
105: disclose only lines 1-13, 16, 19, 20, 22-23, 27, and 31-33;
(53) page
106: disclose only lines 1-9, 16-17, 20, 27, and 31-32;
(54) page
107: disclose only lines 1-8, 12, 21, 25, 34, 36, and 39;
(55) page
108: disclose only lines 1-9, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 23, 25, 31, and 38;
Docket #FIC 95-194 Page
Six
(56) page
109: disclose only lines 1-8, 11, 14, 17, 21, 33, and 36;
(57) page
110: disclose only lines 1-8, 11, 17, 37, and 40;
(58) page
111: disclose only lines 1-9, 23, 26, 32, 34, and 36-37;
(59) page
112: disclose only lines 1-9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 25, 31-32, and 36;
(60) page
113: disclose only lines 1-9, 14, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28, 31, and 35;
(61) page
114: disclose only lines 1-8, 10, 20, 33, and 39;
(62) page
115: disclose only lines 1-8, 19, 27-28, and 42;
(63) page
116: disclose only lines 1-8, 16, and 47;
(64) page
117: disclose only lines 1-8, 32, 36, 38, and 42;
(65) page
118: disclose only lines 1-8, 16, 20, 23, 27, and 31;
(66) page
119: disclose only lines 1-9, 13, 17, 19, 22, 23, 30, 36, and 39;
(67) page
120: disclose only lines 1-8, 10, 13, 16, and 39;
(68) page
121: disclose only lines 1-9, 14, 25, and 29;
(69) page
122: disclose only lines 1-8, 13, 15, and 18;
(70) page
123: disclose only lines 1-8, 10, 13, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 32, 36, 40, and
44.
14. It
is concluded that the respondent's failure to provide the complainant with
copies of the nonexempt billing records violated the provisions of
1-15 and 1-19(a), G.S.
Docket #FIC 95-194 Page
Seven
15. The
Commission has insufficient evidence to determine the existence of any other
payment records, as more fully described in paragraph 3 of the findings, above,
which would be responsive to the complainant's May request.
16. It
is found, however, that the respondent has claimed no exemption to disclosure
of the requested payment records other than that which has been claimed for the
billing records which were submitted to the Commission for in camera review.
The following order by the Commission is hereby
recommended on the basis of the record concerning the above-captioned
complaint:
1. Forthwith,
the respondent shall provide the complainant with a copy of the billing
records, as more fully described in paragraph 13(1) through (70) of the
findings, above, free of charge.
2. The
respondent shall immediately instruct the custodian of the payment records to
conduct a search of his or her files for any additional payment records that
are responsive to the complainant's May request, as more fully discussed in
paragraphs 2 and 3 of the findings, above, and to the extent such payment
records exist, provide them to the complainant free of charge.
3. If
the search ordered in paragraph 2 of this order, above, reveals that no
additional records exist that are responsive to the complainant's request, then
the respondent shall instruct the custodian of the subject records to execute,
with the assistance of legal counsel, an affidavit detailing the particulars of
the search conducted and stating that no such payment records exist. The aforementioned affidavit shall be
provided to the complainant within seven (7) days of the date of issuance of
the final decision in this matter.
4. Henceforth,
the respondent shall strictly comply with the public records requirements set
forth in 1-15 and 1-19(a), G.S.
Approved by Order of the
Freedom of Information Commission at its regular meeting of April 24, 1996.
Elizabeth A. Leifert
Acting Clerk of the
Commission
Docket #FIC 95-194 Page
Eight
PURSUANT TO SECTION 4-180(c),
G.S. THE FOLLOWING ARE THE NAMES OF EACH PARTY AND THE MOST RECENT MAILING ADDRESS,
PROVIDED TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION COMMISSION, OF THE PARTIES OR THEIR
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE.
THE PARTIES TO THIS CONTESTED
CASE ARE:
Eileen McGann
c/o William RJP Brown, Esq.
90 Grove Street, Suite 205
Ridgefield, CT 06877
City of Waterbury
c/o Sheila Berger, Esq.
Michael Toma, Esq.
236 Grand Street
Waterbury, CT 06702
Elizabeth A. Leifert
Acting Clerk of the
Commission