Bd. of Trs., Jacksonville Police & Fire Pension Fund v. Lee

• Decision Date: 14 April 2016
• Docket Number: No. SC13–1315.,SC13–1315.
• Citation: 189 So.3d 120
• Parties: BOARD OF TRUSTEES, JACKSONVILLE POLICE & FIRE PENSION FUND, etc., Petitioner, v. Curtis W. LEE, Respondent.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

189 So.3d 120

BOARD OF TRUSTEES, JACKSONVILLE POLICE & FIRE PENSION FUND, etc., Petitioner,

v.Curtis W. LEE, Respondent.

No. SC13–1315.

Supreme Court of Florida.

April 14, 2016.

Robert David Klausner, Stuart Andrew Kaufman, Adam Phillip Levinson, and Paul A. Daragjati of Klausner, Kaufman, Jensen & Levinson, Plantation, FL, for Petitioner.

Robert Michael Dees of Milam Howard Nicandri Dees & Gillam, P.A., Jacksonville, FL, for Respondent.

Jonathan D. Kaney, Jr. of Kaney & Olivari, P.L., Ormond Beach, FL, and David M. Snyder of David M. Snyder P.A., Tampa, FL, for Amici Curiae First Amendment Foundation, Inc., Florida Press Association, Florida Scholastic Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists, Sandra F. Chance, J.D., as Executive Director of The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, Creative Loafing Tampa, LLC, Times Publishing Company, Media General Operations, Inc. d/b/a WFLA–TV, Dennis A. Ribaya, WPLG, Inc., Cox Media, and Patrick Lynch.

PARIENTE, J.

In this case, we consider whether a prevailing party is entitled to an award of statutory attorney's fees under Florida's Public Records Act after the trial court determines in a civil action that the public agency violated the Public Records Act in failing to permit a public record to be inspected or copied. In Lee v. Board of Trustees, Jacksonville Police & Fire Pension Fund, 113 So.3d 1010, 1010 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013), the First District Court of Appeal concluded that attorney's fees should have been awarded after a finding that the public agency imposed conditions that were in violation of the Public Records Act, even though the "agency's violation was neither knowing, willful, nor done with malicious intent." Id. Like the First District, the Second District Court of Appeal has concluded that there is no "good faith" or "honest mistake" exception to a statutory award of attorney's fees when the public agency has violated the Public Records Act. See Office of State Att'y for Thirteenth Jud. Cir. of Fla. v. Gonzalez, 953 So.2d 759, 765 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007).

To the contrary, the Third, Fourth, and Fifth District Courts of Appeal have all construed the attorney's fee provision of the Public Records Act to require a showing that the public agency acted unreasonably or in bad faith before attorney's fees can be awarded. See Althouse v. Palm Beach Cty. Sheriff's Office, 92 So.3d 899, 902 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012) ; Greater Orlando Aviation Auth. v. Nejame, Lafay, Jancha, Vara, Barker, 4 So.3d 41, 43 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009) ; Knight Ridder, Inc. v. Dade Aviation Consultants, 808 So.2d 1268, 1269 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002). We have jurisdiction to resolve this conflict. See art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const.¹

In accordance with case law liberally construing the Public Records Act in favor of open access to public records, the reasonable statutory construction of the attorney's fee provision, and the letter and spirit of the constitutional right to inspect or copy public records, we hold that a prevailing party is entitled to statutory attorney's fees under the Public Records Act when the trial court finds that the public agency violated a provision of the Public Records Act in failing to permit a public record to be inspected or copied. There is no additional requirement, before awarding attorney's fees under the Public Records Act, that the trial court find that the public agency did not act in good faith, acted in bad faith, or acted unreasonably. Accordingly, we approve Lee and Gonzalez to the extent they are consistent with our analysis and disapprove Althouse, Greater Orlando, and Knight Ridder to the extent that those cases require a showing that the public agency acted unreasonably or in bad faith before allowing recovery of attorney's fees under the Public Records Act.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This case arises out of a written request by Curtis W. Lee for public records from the Board of Trustees, Jacksonville Police & Fire Pension Fund ("Pension Fund"). Following Lee's request, disputes arose about the conditions the Pension Fund imposed before allowing Lee to inspect and photocopy the records. Lee refused to comply with the conditions imposed by the Pension Fund and was not permitted to inspect or copy the records at the arranged time.

Eventually, Lee sought declaratory relief pursuant to section 86.011, Florida Statutes (2009), alleging that certain conditions and fees imposed by the Pension Fund prior to allowing him to inspect or copy the public records he requested were not legally valid. After a bench trial, the trial court found some of the actions and charges of the Pension Fund to be proper but determined that two conditions—an hourly photocopying fee and an hourly supervisory fee—were imposed in violation of provisions of section 119.07, Florida Statutes (2009), which governs the fees, inspection, and copying of public records.

The Pension Fund appealed to the First District, which affirmed the trial court's final declaratory judgment without a written opinion. Bd. of Trs. v. Lee, 110 So.3d 443 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013) (table decision). The merits of that decision are not currently before us, as that decision is the law of the case. See Fla. Dep't of Transp. v. Juliano, 801 So.2d 101, 105 (Fla.2001).

Lee also moved for attorney's fees under section 119.12, Florida Statutes (2009), which provides for an award of attorney's fees "[i]f a civil action is filed against an agency to enforce the provisions of [the Public Records Act] and if the court determines that such agency unlawfully refused to permit a public record to be inspected or copied." The trial court denied Lee's request for attorney's fees, explaining that since the Pension Fund's violations of the Public Records Act were "not knowing, willful or done with a malicious intent," they "did not amount to an ‘unlawful refusal,’ " as is required for an award of attorney's fees under section 119.12.

Lee timely appealed the denial of his motion for attorney's fees to the First District, which reversed the trial court's order. Lee, 113 So.3d at 1010. The First District provided the following reasoning in support of its decision:

Although fees are not warranted when the entity in charge of the public records at issue was reasonably and understandably unsure of its status as an agency, New York Times Co. v. PHH Mental Health Services, Inc., 616 So.2d 27 (Fla.1993), there is no comparable requirement when agency status is not in doubt, nor has there been since the 1984 amendment of section 119.12, when the legislature removed the necessity of showing that an agency "unreasonably" refused inspection of public records. See, e.g., Johnson v. Jarvis, 74 So.3d 168 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011) ; Weeks v. Golden, 764 So.2d 633 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000) ; Office of State Attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Fla. v. Gonzalez, 953 So.2d 759 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007). Accordingly, the lower court erred as a matter of law by concluding that the agency had violated section 119.07 by refusing to disclose certain records, yet plaintiff was not entitled to attorney's fees because the agency's violation was neither knowing, willful, nor done with malicious intent. As the supreme court observed in PHH, "refusal by an entity that is clearly an agency within the meaning of chapter 119 will always constitute unlawful refusal." PHH, 616 So.2d at 29.

Id. We granted review and now approve the First District's decision based on the following analysis.

ANALYSIS

The focus of our analysis is the explicit language of section 119.12 —the attorney's fee provision of Florida's Public Records Act—which provides:

If a civil action is filed against an agency to enforce the provisions of this chapter and if the court determines that such agency unlawfully refused to permit a public record to be inspected or copied, the court shall assess and award, against the agency responsible, the reasonable costs of enforcement including reasonable attorneys' fees.

§ 119.12, Fla. Stat. (2009). This is an issue of statutory interpretation, which this Court reviews de novo. See Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Perdido Sun Condo. Ass'n, 164 So.3d 663, 666 (Fla.2015).

I. The Public Records Act

The Florida Constitution provides individuals with "the right to inspect or copy any public record made or received in connection with the official business of any public body, officer, or employee of the state, or persons acting on their behalf, except with respect to records exempted pursuant to this section or specifically made confidential by this Constitution." Art. I, § 24 (a), Fla. Const. The legislative implementation of this constitutional mandate is codified in chapter 119, Florida Statutes, the "Public Records Act." 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 (2009). As provided in the Public Records Act, "[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." § 119.07(1)(a), Fla. Stat.

Florida courts have articulated that the purpose of the Public Records Act, in broad terms, is "to open public records to allow Florida's citizens to discover the actions of their government." Bent v. State, 46 So.3d 1047, 1049 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010) (quoting Christy v. Palm Beach Cty. Sheriff's Office, 698 So.2d 1365, 1366 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997) ). This Court, in particular, has described the right of access to public records as a "cornerstone of our political culture." In re Report & Recommendations of Judicial Mgmt. Council of Fla. on Privacy & Elec. Access to Court Records, 832 So.2d 712, 713 (Fla.2002).

Yet, this access is not so broad that it is completely unfettered. Access to public records is subject to various statutory conditions and exemptions. See, e.g., § 119.071, Fla. Stat. (2009) (listing general exemptions); § 119.07, Fla. Stat. (describing various "reasonable...