Guarrasi v. Scott et al.
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
No. 630, M.D. 2010
June 21, 2011
The Commonwealth Court ruled that if a person who claims that a Right to Know Law request was denied improperly, that person must follow the appeal procedures in the law and cannot file a separate lawsuit seeking to obtain the documents.
Background
Joseph Guarrasi, a state prison inmate, submitted a RTKL request to the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas seeking records relating to his criminal case.
The Bucks County Court denied his request, and Guarrasi did not appeal the denial. Instead, he filed suit in the Commonwealth Court, asking that court to declare his right to access the requested documents.
Commonwealth Court Decision
The Commonwealth Court rejected Guarrasi’s suit, holding that “the RTKL provides the exclusive means to seek redress for violations of the RTKL.”
In other words, if a request is denied, the requester must follow the procedures in the RTKL to appeal that denial and cannot file a separate lawsuit complaining about the denial.
Here, Guarrasi failed to file an appeal, and the Commonwealth Court therefore did not address his claim that the Bucks County Court violated his rights.