Date Posted: Tuesday, July 6th, 2021
Petitioner alleged that the Governor’s Council on Agriculture and the Delaware Food and Farm Policy Council failed to follow the open meeting requirements of FOIA by posting notices, agendas, and minutes of its meetings.
DECIDED: Both Councils are public bodies and in violation of FOIA for their failure to comply with the open meeting requirements.
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Date Posted: Friday, July 2nd, 2021
Petitioner alleged that DelDOT improperly asserted attorney-client privilege, pending or potential litigation, draft document exclusion, and the exemption for confidential financial or commercial information to deny his clients’ request for a traffic impact study and related draft documents and correspondence.
DECIDED: DelDOT violated FOIA by failing to meet its burden with respect to the records it claims are subject to attorney-client privilege, attorney work product, or the pending litigation exemption. It was recommended DelDOT review its records in accordance with this Opinion and provide a supplemental response in accordance with the timeframes permitted in Section 10003(h). This response is recommended to include a statement that the attorney-client privileged and work product materials were reviewed and to include any responsive records, with the exception of materials subject to attorney-client privilege or attorney work product and any working drafts, subject to any redactions otherwise appropriate under FOIA.
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Date Posted: Wednesday, June 30th, 2021
Petitioners alleged that Sussex County failed to give proper notice of a Council meeting and the Industrial Revenue Bond Committee public hearing.
DECIDED: Counties are excluded from the requirement to post its notices and agendas online. No FOIA violation was found, as the Council and Industrial Revenue Bond Committee properly posted its physical notices for the Council meeting and public hearing regarding the Bond application.
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Date Posted: Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021
Petitioner alleged that the Delaware Department of Health and Human Services violated FOIA by failing to identify the specific records it withheld and by giving excessive cost and time estimates.
DECIDED: No FOIA violation found.
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Date Posted: Tuesday, May 18th, 2021
Petitioner alleged that his client’s requests for records submitted to the Delaware Department of Agriculture were improperly denied. The Department asserted that the records were exempt by statute, pursuant to 29 Del. C. 10002(l)(6) and 3 Del. C. 2247.
DECIDED: The Department did not meet its burden to justify its denial of access to the requested records.
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Date Posted: Wednesday, May 12th, 2021
Petitioner alleged that the Delaware Department of Insurance improperly denied his request on the basis of his status as a non-citizen and on the basis of other statutory provisions applicable to the Department.
DECIDED: No violation of FOIA occurred as alleged in the petition.
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Date Posted: Tuesday, May 4th, 2021
Petitioner alleged that DOC improperly denied his request for DOC policies and other records.
DECIDED: No FOIA violation occurred, as 29 Del. C. 10002(l)(13) exempts any records in DOC’s possession which are sought by an inmate in DOC’s custody.
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Date Posted: Thursday, April 22nd, 2021
Petitioner alleged that the Department of Insurance improperly cited exemptions in response to its request for certain records.
DECIDED: The Department did not violate FOIA in denying the items in the request on the basis of the pending or potential litigation exemption, the statutory exemption for examination work papers, and the investigatory files exemption.
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Date Posted: Wednesday, April 21st, 2021
Petitioner alleged that the City of Wilmington failed to respond to a request for records.
DECIDED: No FOIA violation occurred, as the City provided evidence of its timely response to the request.
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Date Posted: Wednesday, March 24th, 2021
Petitioner alleged that the Delaware State Police (“DSP”) improperly denied her request for a criminal complaint.
DECIDED: DSP did not violate FOIA, as the investigatory files exemption applies to the criminal complaint.
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