OPRA

Bozzi v. Atlantic City, et al. (Opinion)

Category: Open Public Records Act (OPRA)

Terms: Bid Specifications; Written Record Request

Summary: An Appellate Division Decision regarding whether bid specifications are included as government records, as well as the maximum fee that can be charged per page for bid specifications. The Court affirmed that bid specifications are government records and that $.05 per letter size page is the maximum fee that can be charged.

John Paff v. Galloway Township and Thalia C. Kay, in her capacity as Municipal Clerk and Records Custodian of Galloway Township (Opinion)

Category: Open Public Records Act (OPRA)

Terms: Public Records, Email Logs, Create New Records/Documents

Summary: The Plaintiff submitted an OPRA request to the Clerk seeking “logs” of all emails sent by the Clerk and the Township’s Chief of Police through specific dates. The Plaintiff did not seek copies of the email, but rather, only an itemized list showing the sender, recipient, date, and subject. The Plaintiff filed a Verified Complaint and Order to Show Cause upon the Clerk’s denial of his request. The Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division reversed the order of the Trial Court requiring the Township to provide the Plaintiff with email logs. The Court held that OPRA does not require the creation of a new government record that does not exist a the time of a request, even if the information sought to be included in the new government record is stored or maintained electronically in other government documents.