Gerard F. Mackin, Jr. v. Weymouth, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20190151)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords February 6, 2019 SPR19/151 Eileen Pitts Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent Weymouth Public Schools 111 Middle Street Weymouth, MA 02189 Dear Ms. Pitts: I have received the petition of Gerard F. Mackin, Jr. appealing the response of the Weymouth Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Mackin sent an email on October 12, 2018 requesting" .. . the email records of Mr. Kevin P. Mackin athletic director of the Town of Weymouth. The request is for records since Jan. 2, 2016." This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPRl 8/1679 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (November 28, 2018). Mr. Mackin has appealed the School's most recent response dated January 18, 2019. Pending litigation 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b) provides in pertinent part: the Supervisor may deny an appeal for, among other reasons if, in the opinion of the Supervisor: l. the public records in question are the subjects of disputes in active litigation, administrative hearings or mediation. Attorney Mackin informed this office that he filed a complaint in Norfolk Superior Court on December 18, 2018. See Gerald F. Mackin, Jr. v. Kathleen Deree, Docket No. 18-1611. In this complaint, Attorney Mackin references requests that he submitted to the Town under the Public Records Law and asserts, in part, that "Plaintiff files this action pursuant to section 1O A of F.O.I.A to compel the R.A.O. to fulfill her statutory duty and comply with Plaintiffs requests for records as submitted to the R.A.O." In a December 181 h email Attorney Mackin noted "[i]t is my intention to send out notices of deposition to those members of the School Committee and Administration who I believe can provide responsive documents." 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

Eileen Pitts SPR19/151 Page2 February 6, 2019 In light of the complaint filed on December 181 h that seeks compliance with the Public Records Law through litigation, it is my determination that the records at issue in this appeal are the subject of a dispute in active litigation. Accordingly, I decline to opine on this matter at this time. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Gerard F. Mackin, Jr.