Petitioner alleged that the City of Newark violated FOIA with respect a request for law enforcement records. The petition’s claims included: (1) the blanket application of the investigatory files exemption was improper; (2) the City did not provide an adequate denial as it required multiple payments before informing petitioner that substantial portions of the requested records were categorically withheld and not part of the search; (3) the City’s production was largely duplicative email chains; (4) the City failed to provide adequate factual support for withholding records.
DECIDED: For the first claim, the City did not violate FOIA by withholding access to records under the investigatory files exemption. For the second claim, the issue of the incomplete response regarding the records withheld was found to be moot. The third and fourth claims were determined to be without merit.
Read MorePetitioner alleged the Town of Clayton improperly denied a multi-part request for records related to its license plate surveillance system. The petitioner claimed that the requested data policies cannot constitute trade secrets; that the information sought pertains to the petitioner’s license plates and Town vehicles, which are contractually required to be collected; and that the cited exemptions do not apply to the GPS tracking for police vehicles.
DECIDED: The Petition’s claim regarding the data policies was considered moot because the Town provided the requested records. The Town violated FOIA with respect to the license plate information for the petitioner’s and Town’s vehicles by failing to meet its burden to demonstrate that this data was appropriately withheld under FOIA. However, the Town did not violate FOIA by withholding access to the GPS tracking information for its Town police vehicles, which is covered by the safety exemption in Section 10002(o)(17).
Read MorePetitioner alleged that the Capital School District violated FOIA regarding a multi-part request for records related to a staffing vendor. The claims included: (1) the response was delayed; (2) the requested contracts were not provided due to an assumption made by the District; (3) the District failed to provide responsive records in its possession; (4) the District improperly used boilerplate language and duplicated responses; (5) the District failed to use widely accepted document production methods; and (6) the District improperly produced a record that was not part of the request with improper redactions.
DECIDED: The District violated FOIA by failing to provide the requested contracts and by failing to meet its burden to demonstrate it appropriately searched and produced responsive records. The remaining claims do not constitute FOIA violations.
Read MorePetitioner alleged that the City of Rehoboth Beach violated FOIA in responding to a request for multiple categories of records related to a City property’s building permit issue. The claims included: (1) the City’s response was untimely; (2) the response lacked a detailed factual explanation, affidavit, or index of withheld records; (3) the City misapplied the potential litigation exemption to this request; and (4) the City failed to segregate and produce non-exempt records.
DECIDED: The City did not violate FOIA by denying access to the requested records pursuant to the potential litigation exemption. Additionally, the remaining claims in the petition regarding the timeliness and adequacy of the City’s response to the request do not constitute violations of FOIA.
Read MorePetitioner alleged that New Castle County violated FOIA by denying access to certain records related to a law enforcement encounter.
DECIDED: Because the requested records are exempt pursuant to the investigatory files exemption, no violation occurred.
Read MorePetitioner alleged that the Town of Blades violated FOIA because the Town Council voted on a plumbing contract upon exiting an executive session for “personnel” purposes, but this contract was not listed on the agenda. In addition, the petitioner alleges that the amount of the contract was not disclosed in violation of the Town’s requirements.
DECIDED: Because the Town did not respond to this petition with evidence of its compliance, it was determined that the Town violated FOIA by failing to give sufficient public notice of its intent to vote to hire a plumbing company. The issue related to the Town’s contractual requirements is not appropriate for consideration.
Read MorePetitioner alleged that New Castle County violated FOIA by denying a request for records related to a law enforcement operation at a residence.
DECIDED: As the records were properly withheld under the investigatory files exemption, the County did not violate FOIA as alleged.
Read MorePetitioner alleged that the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (“DHSS”) violated FOIA by: (1) applying an overly broad interpretation of the privacy exemption to the petitioner’s request; and (2) by failing to identify the specific records withheld and the applicable exemption and to explain why partial disclosure is not feasible in the response to the petitioner’s request.
DECIDED: The DHSS did not violate FOIA by denying access to the requested records. The DHSS also did not violate FOIA by failing to compile an index of withheld records, nor by failing to provide the requested explanations in its response to the request.
Read MorePetitioner alleged that New Castle County improperly denied a request for records related to a sewage backup and flooding incident.
DECIDED: As the County sufficiently demonstrated that the potential litigation exemption applies, no violation of FOIA was found.
Petitioner alleged that the Delaware State Police, Department of Safety and Homeland Security violated FOIA by improperly denying a request for certain records related to a traffic stop.
DECIDED: As the records were appropriately withheld under the pending litigation exemption, no violation of FOIA was found.
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