Right-to-Know Law Case Summaries

The Commonwealth Court vacated a final determination of the Office of Open Records for lack of jurisdiction in a case arising from a request for records involving the liquidation of an insurance company.
The court ruled that because it had appointed the state’s insurance commissioner to be the liquidator of the company, all records related to the liquidation were under the control of the court and could not be accessed through the Right to Know Law.

The Commonwealth Court held that the records of a charter school were public records because they directly related to the government function served by the company.

The Commonwealth Court reversed an Office of Open Records determination and ruled that W-2 forms were exempt from disclosure because they are protected by a federal statute.

The Commonwealth Court held that the Right to Know Law requires agencies to provide access to emails to or from government employees when those employees are acting in their official capacities. Agencies, however, can withhold emails that concern employees’ private activities.

The Commonwealth Court reversed a final determination of the Office of Open Records (“OOR”) and ruled that a requestor cannot change its Right to Know Law request during the appeals process.
The court ruled that the agency did not need to provide other records from which the information the requester sought could be gleaned because those records were not requested originally.

The Commonwealth Court held that, under the facts presented in this case, the state properly denied a request for the birthdates of all Pennsylvania state employees under the Right to Know Law’s personal security exemption.

The Commonwealth Court ruled that an agency can meet its burden under the Right to Know Law by submitting an affidavit from its open records officer stating that the requested record does not exist.

The Commonwealth Court ruled that tax returns and tax return information, which are confidential under federal law, are not subject to disclosure under the Right to Know Law.

The Commonwealth Court ruled that an agency properly denied access to requested records held by a government contractor because the requestor did not pay the agency’s fee for copying the records.

The Commonwealth Court ruled that documents pertaining to Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission employees’ use of E-ZPass transponders are not public records under the Right to Know Law because the records contain information that is confidential under the Pennsylvania Transportation Act.
The court also ruled that the agency could not provide additional information to the court that it had not presented to the Office of Open Records in response to the initial appeal.