LAKE SHORE HOSPITAL AUTHORITY, AND JACKSON P. BERRY, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS LAKE SHORE HOSPITAL AUTHORITY'S CUSTODIAN OF RECORDS, APPELLANTS,
v.
STEWART LILKER, APPELLEE
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Lake Shore Hospital Authority violated Florida's Public Records Act by unreasonably restricting public access to records through limiting inspection to a single one-hour window on weekdays with 24-hour notice and by directing a requester solely to a website when he requested paper copies. The court affirmed summary judgment for the requester.
The hospital violated the Public Records Act on both grounds. Electronic access via website is merely an additional means of access and is insufficient when a requester specifies a traditional method such as paper copies. Additionally, restricting inspection to a single hour on weekday mornings with a 24-hour notice requirement impermissibly interferes with the requester's right to inspect records at any reasonable time.
[1] Access to public records is constitutionally guaranteed and enforced through the Public Records Act, which is to be construed liberally in favor of openness.
[2] Custodians of public records must permit inspection and copying by any person at any reasonable time, under reasonable conditions, and under supervision.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Every person who has custody of a public record shall permit the record to be inspected and copied by any person desiring to do so, at any reasonable time, under reasonable conditions, and under supervision by the custodian of the public records.”
Establishes the fundamental statutory requirement for public records access
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceStewart Lilker submitted a public records request to Lake Shore Hospital Authority. Initially requesting electronic access, Lilker later requested act…
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Appellants claim the trial court erred in granting appellee’s motion for summary judgment upon finding that appellants violated the Public Records Act by placing unreasonable restrictions on appellee’s access to public records in appellants’ custody. Because there were no disputed issues of material fact in this public records litigation, we conclude the trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of appellee as a matter of law.
In Florida, access to public records is constitutionally guaranteed and enforced through the Public Records Act. Art. I, § 24(a), Fla. Const.; Ch. 119, Fla. Stat. (2013). See Promenade D’Iberville, LCC v. Sundy, 145 So.3d 980, 983 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014); Rhea v. Dist. Bd. of Trs. of Santa Fe College, 109 So.3d 851, 855 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013). Specifically, the Public Records Act declares that “[i]t is the policy of this state that all state, county, and municipal records are open for personal inspection and copying by any person.” § 119.01(1), Fla. Stat. (2013). Thus, “[e]very person who has custody of a public record shall permit the record to be inspected and copied by any person desiring to do so, at any reasonable ■ time, under reasonable conditions, and under supervision by the custodian of the public records.” § 119.07(l)(a), Fla. Stat. (2013). The Act “is to be construed liberally in favor of openness, and all exemptions from disclosure are to be construed narrowly and limited to their designated purpose.” Barfield v. Sch. Bd. of Manatee Cnty., 135 So.3d 560, 562 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014); Wooding v. Lamar, 764 So.2d 765, 767 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000).
In this case, appellants claim the trial court erred in concluding that appellants placed' unreasonable restrictions on appel-lee’s access to public records in appellants’ custody by only referring appellee to a website in response to his public records request. While there is authority supporting appellants’ position that their duty under the Act can be met in this way if the request is solely for electronic access, ap-pellee’s request — which initially was for electronic access — was ultimately for actual paper copies (due to appellee’s alleged difficulties with the website). Access to public records by remote electronic means is merely “an additional means of inspecting or copying public records.” § 119.07(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2013) (emphasis added). This additional means of access, however, is insufficient where the person requesting the records specifies the traditional method of access via paper copies.
In addition, appellants claim the trial court erred in finding that they violated the Public Records Act by restricting ap-pellee’s right to inspect and copy public records in appellants’ possession between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, with twenty-four-hour notice. The Act authorizes inspection and copying of public records at “any reasonable time.” While the custodian may reasonably restrict inspection to those hours during which his or her office is open to the public, appellants have gone much further by limiting appellee’s access to a single hour on weekday mornings. Clearly, this hampered appellee’s right to inspect the records in appellants’ custody “at any reasonable time.” Moreover, there is no authority allowing appellants to automatically delay production of records for in*334spection by imposing a twenty-four-hour notice requirement. See Tribune Co. v. Cannella, 458 So.2d at 1075, 1079 (Fla.1984) (holding that “an automatic delay, no matter how short, impermissibly interferes with the public’s right, restrained only by the physical problems involved in retrieving the records and protecting'them, to examine the records”). Accordingly, we conclude the trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of appellee.
AFFIRMED.
RAY, SWANSON, and MAKAR, JJ., concur.
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Margo Dettelbach v. Dep't of Bus. & Prof'l Reg., 261 So. 3d 676 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018)…ent and that Appellant was not entitled to attorney’s fees and costs. This appeal followed. II. “In Florida, access to public records is constitutionally guaranteed and enforced through the Public Records Act.” Lake Shore Hosp. Auth. v. Lilker, 168 So. 3d 332, 333 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015). The Public Records Act is to be construed liberally in favor of openness, and all exemptions from disclosure are to be construed narrowly and limited to their designated purpose. Lightbourne v. McCollum, 969 So. 2d 326,…
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- Rhea v. The Dist. Bd. OF Trs. OF Santa FE Coll., 109 So. 3d 851 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013)
- Woolling v. Lawson Lamar, 764 So. 2d 765 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)
- The Promenade D'Iberville, LLC v. Rachelle M. Sundy, 145 So. 3d 980 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014)
- Barfield v. Sch. Bd. OF Manatee Cnty., 135 So. 3d 560 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)