Julie Farrell v. Templeton, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20161085)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor of Records December 2, 2016 SPR16/1085 Holly A. Young Office of the Town Administrator Town of Templeton Town Hall, Room 6 P.O. Box 620 East Templeton, MA 01438 Dear Ms. Young: I have received the petition of Julie Farrell appealing the response ofthe Town of Templeton (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1 O(b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Farrell requested a copy of all detailed, legal invoices from August 2016 through October 2016. The Town provided the cover sheets, but denied the request for the detailed legal invoices, failing to specifically claim an exemption in the Public Records Law. Ms. Farrell appealed. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); 950 C.M.R. 32.08(4). "Public records" is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10 ( c); see also District Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. To assist in requesting and responding to requests for public records please refer to our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. This document is available on the Internet, free of charge, at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf. Attorneys on my staff are available during regular business hours to answer general questions regarding the Public One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Holly A. Young SPR16!1085 Page2 December 2, 2016 Records Law. In addition, members of my staff will visit a records custodian in person to conduct training workshops on the Public Records Law upon request. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for further information. Legal Invoices Your November 7, 2016 email to Ms. Farrell states that the detail pages of the legal invoices have been deemed confidential and are not subject to release under the Public Records Law. In her petition, Ms. Farrell notes that in the past the Town has provided full copies of the Town's legal invoices, copies of which were provided to this office. Some jurisdictions, such as the Supreme Court of New Hampshire, have found that invoices for legal services that "provide only general descriptions of the nature of the services performed and do not reveal the subject of confidential communications with any specificity are not privileged." See Hampton Police Assoc., Inc. v. Town of Hampton, 20 A.3d 994, 1001 (2011) (citing Cypress Media v. City of Overland, 997 P.2d 681, 691, 693 (2000)). The Hampton Court found that the Town did not meet its burden because it did not specifically identifY which narratives it claimed were privileged. See Hampton, 20 A. 3d at 1002. An attorney on my staff telephoned you on December 1, and left you a detailed voicemail concerning the request and this appeal. The Town was also provided with an acknowledgment letter dated November 28 to notify you that an appeal was opened regarding the requested records. Order I find the Town has failed to comply with the statutory and regulatory obligations to respond to a public records request. Accordingly, the Town is hereby ordered to provide Ms. Farrell with a revise response to the request, within ten (1 0) days, prep ed in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulation . A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an ectronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. cc: Julie Farrell