Gabrilson v. Flynn

• Decision Date: 18 September 1996
• Docket Number: No. 95-619,95-619
• Citation: 554 N.W.2d 267
• Parties: 113 Ed. Law Rep. 894 Carolyn GABRILSON, Appellant, v. Peter FLYNN, Custodian of the Records of the Davenport School District, Appellee.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

Page 267

554 N.W.2d 267

113 Ed. Law Rep. 894

Carolyn GABRILSON, Appellant, v. Peter FLYNN, Custodian of the Records of the Davenport School District, Appellee.

No. 95-619.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Sept. 18, 1996.

Rehearing Denied Oct. 22, 1996.

Jeffrey S. Bittner of Carlin, Hellstrom & Bittner, Davenport, for appellant.

Ralph D. Sauer and Jean Dickson Feeney of Betty, Neuman & McMahon, L.L.P., and Carole J. Anderson of Lane & Waterman, Davenport, for appellee.

Considered by McGIVERIN, C.J., and LAVORATO, SNELL, ANDREASEN, and TERNUS, JJ.

SNELL, Justice.

Plaintiff, Carolyn Gabrilson, sought to obtain, through a writ of mandamus and injunctive relief, copies of a performance assessment test given to Davenport Community School district students. She sued Peter Flynn, the school's superintendent, as the custodian of the records. Her petition demanded disclosure, asserted a violation of chapter 22 of the Iowa Code, the Examination of Public Records Act, and sought damages of $500, costs, and attorney fees. The district court denied the relief sought by Gabrilson, ruled that the records were confidential, and granted appellee's request for injunctive relief against Gabrilson. Gabrilson appealed. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

This case concerns a performance assessment test developed by the staff of the Davenport Community School district to be taken by all eleventh grade students as a requirement for graduation. The test purports to measure students' problem solving abilities and their competence. After its development, a portion of the test was administered to a group of students in order to assess its usability and samples of the assessment were made available by the district for inspection. After she became aware of the assessment program, Gabrilson, a member of the school board, asked for and received a copy of the field-tested version from a district secretary. She then publicly denounced the assessment as being politically based and charged that it improperly espoused "outcome based" educational philosophy. The majority of the school board did not agree with her criticisms. The district responded by copyrighting the test and ordered Gabrilson to return all copies in her possession. She refused to turn over the copy she had received and requested that the district provide her with any unreleased scoring rubrics and other materials related to the assessment. Defendant Flynn, the superintendent of the Davenport schools, refused to provide the examination and rubrics scheduled to be administered to eleventh graders that following fall. Defendant based his refusal on the statutory exceptions to the Iowa open records law, claiming that the materials were confidential trade secrets and statutorily protected examinations. Gabrilson then proceeded to distribute the field tested assessment in her possession to a radio talk show host and to other members of the media.

Plaintiff filed a petition for writ of mandamus and/or injunctive relief to compel Flynn to turn over copies of the assessment, pursuant to chapter 22 of the Iowa Code. In Count I of her petition, Gabrilson requested copies of the assessment as a private citizen. Count II made the same request in her capacity as a school board member. Defendant Flynn filed a motion to strike and the district court dismissed Count II, ruling that Gabrilson's status as a school board member gives her no more rights than an ordinary citizen under chapter 22. Count I was allowed to proceed, but upon motion for summary judgment by both parties, the district court ruled the issue was moot because Gabrilson had already received a copy of the assessment, and any determination of the confidentiality of the material would be purely academic in nature. The court also denied plaintiff's claim for damages because it did not adjudicate whether a chapter 22 violation occurred. In addition it determined Flynn met the good faith requirements of the chapter by reasonably relying on the advice of counsel in denying the disclosure.

Both parties filed Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 179(b) motions to enlarge the district court's findings. The district court granted the motions and proceeded to find that, as a matter of law, the tests and scoring rubrics were confidential as statutorily excluded examinations under section 22.7(19). The court enjoined Gabrilson from copying, distributing, or disseminating in any manner the assessment and the corresponding scoring rubrics, pursuant to section 22.8. The court did not resolve the issue of whether the assessments were trade secrets, instead relying upon section 22.8 as an independent avenue of relief, irrespective of the confidentiality of the assessment. It is from this summary judgment ruling that plaintiff appeals, along with an appeal of the district court's decision to strike Count II of her initial petition which sought relief on the basis of her status as a school board member.

II. Confidentiality of Assessments

A. Standard of Review

Our review of summary judgment orders is for correction of errors at law. Iowa R.App. P. 4; Ciha v. Irons, 509 N.W.2d 492, 493 (Iowa 1993). We will uphold a summary judgment when the movant shows there is no genuine issue of material fact and is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Iowa R. Civ. P. 237(c); C-Thru Container Corp. v. Midland Mfg. Co., 533 N.W.2d 542, 544 (Iowa 1995). In reviewing the record, we will consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Hoffnagle v. McDonald's Corp., 522 N.W.2d 808, 811 (Iowa 1994).

B. Confidential Examinations

Iowa's open records law, as codified in chapter 22 of the Code, ensures that "[e]very person shall have the right to examine and copy public records and to publish or otherwise disseminate public records or the information contained therein." Iowa Code § 22.2(1) (1995). We have found the purpose of this statute to be "to open the doors of government to public scrutiny to prevent government from secreting its decision-making activities from the public, on whose behalf it is its duty to act." Iowa Civil Rights Comm'n v. City of Des Moines, 313 N.W.2d 491, 495 (Iowa 1981). Similarly, chapter 22 "establishe[s] a liberal policy of access from which departures are to be made only under discrete circumstances." City of Dubuque v. Telegraph Herald, Inc., 297 N.W.2d 523, 526 (Iowa 1980). Accordingly, there is a presumption of openness and disclosure under this chapter. Id. at 527.

Section 22.7 provides specific exceptions to the otherwise liberal policy of access. This court has held these exceptions are to be construed narrowly, subject to two caveats. Id. First, the "narrow construction" principle should not be over utilized such that its use frustrates legislative intent. Id. Second, where the expressed exception is broadly inclusive, the narrow construction principle will not aid in the determination of legislative intent. Northeast Council on Substance Abuse, Inc. v. Department of Pub. Health, 513 N.W.2d 757, 759 (Iowa 1994); City of Sioux City v. Greater Sioux City Press Club, 421 N.W.2d 895, 897 (Iowa 1988).

At issue here are two enumerated exceptions to disclosure, found at sections 22.7(3) and 22.7(19). Section 22.7 provides:

The following public records shall be kept confidential, unless otherwise ordered by a court, by the lawful custodian of the records, or by another person duly authorized to release such information:

....

3. Trade secrets which are recognized and protected as such by law.

....

19. Examinations ... to the extent that their disclosure could reasonably be believed by the custodian to interfere with the accomplishment of the objectives for which they are administered.

We will first address whether the assessment is excluded under the examination exception of section 22.7(19). Plaintiff does not contend that the eleventh grade assessment does not sufficiently constitute an "examination" such that it would not fall within the scope of section 22.7(19). Rather, she claims that since the test has already been circulated to the public (both by her own actions and allegedly by those of the district) it is no longer confidential and thus should no longer be exempted from release. Plaintiff bases her argument on the statutory construction of the word "confidential." She argues the assessment should not be considered confidential because it is available for public inspection at the Library of Congress (as a result of the district's copyright application), a copy was previously given to plaintiff (who proceeded to distribute it to the public), and a general publication of its content occurred prior to the copyright application (when the assessment was field tested). According to the plaintiff, the assessment is not confidential as a result of these circumstances.

Plaintiff, however, has misconstrued the language of section 22.7. Section 22.7(19) specifically excludes examinations from the general rule of disclosure, characterizing them as being confidential by their very nature. Accordingly, section 22.7 does not exclude a general class of records labeled as "confidential" as the plaintiff would argue, but instead provides that certain, expressed types of public records shall be kept confidential, one type of which is examinations. Iowa Code § 22.7. In other words, the assessment's confidentiality as it relates to chapter 22 is dependent on its being an examination whose disclosure the custodian reasonably believes would destroy the objectives of the test. Id. The statute makes no reference to any other extrinsic factors to be considered in making such a determination and it is not required that the examination be kept from all eyes but the custodian's. Even if records are deemed to be confidential, the custodian still may disclose them, subject to the constraints of the law. Such disclosure does not remove them from the general protection of section 22.7...