BURNETT v. COUNTY OF GLOUCESTER (A-4329-08T3) 5-10-10
Plaintiff made a request to the County of Gloucester for
production of documents pursuant to the Open Public Records Act
(OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 to -13, consisting of "[a]ny and all
settlements, releases or similar documents entered into,
approved or accepted from 1/1/2006 to present." Alleging
noncompliance, plaintiff then filed suit, but summary judgment
was granted against him on the ground that production was not
required because the requested documents were not in the
County's possession and its Clerk had no obligation to seek them
from sources beyond the County's files.
On appeal, we determined that (1) settlements executed by
third parts on behalf of a governmental entity constitute
government records as defined by OPRA; (2) a request for
"settlement agreements" without specification of the matters to
which they pertain does not constitute a request for information
obtained through research, requiring no response pursuant to
OPRA, but rather a request for a specific document triggering
OPRA's disclosure requirements; and (3) the County was not
excused from its OPRA obligations because the requested
documents were not in its possession.
obtained through research, requiring no
