NJ Supreme Court to decide who has a right to sue

The New Jersey Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of the Appellate Division’s December 18, 2015 ruling that only requestors can file an OPRA lawsuit, or rather, that there is no declaratory judgment action for public agencies with regard to records requests.

 

A-68-15 In the Matter of the New Jersey State Fireman’s Association Obligation to Provide Relief Application (077097)

Can a government records custodian bring an action pursuant to the Declaratory Judgment Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:16-50 to -62, to secure a declaratory judgment that it properly denied access to a record under the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 to -13, and the common law right of access; and, did this requestor have a right to access records pertaining to financial relief payments made by the Association?

Certification granted: 4/29/16
Posted: 4/29/16

See more, including case documents, here:
https://njfog.org/2015/12/18/2707/