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Delaware Department of Justice
Attorney General
Kathy Jennings


Attorney General's Opinions




18-IB22 5/1/2018 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Randall Chase re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Office of Defense Services

Date Posted: Friday, May 4th, 2018

Petitioner alleged that the Office of Defense Services violated FOIA by withholding requested information on the costs of a defense in current litigation. DECIDED: The wholesale denial of the request violated FOIA.

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18-IB21 4/27/2018 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Frank "Dan" Cannon re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the City of Seaford

Date Posted: Monday, April 30th, 2018

Petitioner alleged that Seaford’s Benefits Committee failed to post notice or an agenda for its March 13, 2018 meeting. The City argued that the Committee is not a public body. DECIDED: The failure to notice the meeting or provide an agenda constituted a violation of FOIA, as the Committee qualifies as a public body.

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18-IB20 4/23/2018 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Randall Chase re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Department of Correction

Date Posted: Monday, April 30th, 2018

Petitioner alleged that the Department of Corrections violated FOIA by redacting the names and positions of employees who have take-home vehicles. Petitioner also challenged DOC’s itemized written cost estimate. DECIDED: The names and positions of employees who have take-home vehicles are a matter of public record because the vehicles may constitute a form of compensation. No FOIA violation found in connection with the itemized written cost estimate.

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18-IB19 4/10/2018 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. John Young re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Christina School District

Date Posted: Friday, April 13th, 2018

Petitioner alleged that Christina School District’s violated FOIA in connection with an itemized written cost estimate. DECIDED: The petition was determined to be moot because the Petitioner subsequently emphasized that his original intent was to request a smaller subset of records than those included in the cost estimate.

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18-IB18 4/6/2018 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Bernard Garbo re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Office of the State Bank Commissioner

Date Posted: Friday, April 13th, 2018

Petitioner alleged that the State Bank Commissioner violated FOIA by denying his request for records on the basis that neither he nor the company on whose behalf he requested the records is a citizen of Delaware. DECIDED: No FOIA violation was found, as Delaware’s FOIA does not prohibit a public body from denying a FOIA request on the basis that the requesting party is not a Delaware citizen.

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18-IB17 4/2/2018 FOIA Opinion Letter to Ms. Shannon McNaught re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Town of Dewey Beach

Date Posted: Friday, April 13th, 2018

Petitioner alleged that the Town of Dewey Beach had violated FOIA by failing to provide an amendment to an insurance policy in response to a FOIA request for the policy. DECIDED: The petition was determined to be moot because the Town provided the requested record after receiving notice of the petition and locating the policy amendment at issue.

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18-IB16 3/12/2018 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Kushal Shah re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Wilmington Police Department

Date Posted: Friday, March 16th, 2018

Petitioner alleged that the Wilmington Police Department failed to provide a response to what petitioner referred to as his FOIA request. The City responded that it had not received the request. DECIDED: No FOIA violation.

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18-IB15 3/12/2018 FOIA Opinion Letter to Ms. Kyle Gay on behalf of Residents for a Livable City re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Trustees of the New Castle Common

Date Posted: Friday, March 16th, 2018

Petitioner alleged that the Trustees of the New Castle Commons violated FOIA by denying its FOIA request on the basis that the Trustees believes that it is not a public body subject to FOIA. DECIDED: This Office believes that the Trustees is a public body subject to FOIA and thus violated FOIA by failing to respond as required by FOIA.

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18-IB14 3/9/2018 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Jeffrey Smith re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Town of Dewey Beach

Date Posted: Monday, March 12th, 2018

Petitioner alleged that the Town of Dewey Beach violated FOIA by failing to provide certain policy changes in response to a FOIA request for the Town’s current insurance policy. The Town responded that it had inadvertently omitted certain policy changes and provided a copy of the changes in response to the petition. DECIDED: The petition was deemed to be moot.

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18-IB13 3/6/2018 FOIA Opinion Letter to Ms. Fleur McKendell re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Department of Insurance

Date Posted: Wednesday, March 7th, 2018

Petitioner alleged that the Department of Insurance violated FOIA by denying her request for certain records relating to her employment. DECIDED: No FOIA violation, as the records are personnel records and therefore not public records as defined by FOIA. Any entitlement that Petitioner might have in the requested records would be outside the scope of FOIA.

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