Transparency, Commonwealth v. Malden, City of (SPR 20260946)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 31, 2026 SPR26/0946 Joanne Perperian Records Access Officer City of Malden 215 Pleasant Street Malden, MA 02148 Dear Ms. Perperian: I have received the petition of Commonwealth Transparency (requestor) appealing the response of the City of Malden (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On February 6, 2026, the requestor requested, “[t]he following documents/records in the possession or under the control of your town/city/municipality for the time period January 1, 2016 through February 6, 2026:” [1] Any insurance policy(ies), including declarations pages, exclusions, list(s) of covered locations and values, and/or any other documents in your possession or under your control for the risks of loss related to torts: theft of, damage to and destruction of assets; errors and omissions; and natural disasters. Please also provide the amounts of claim(s) and/or settlements for the previous ten (10) years, including any NDA agreements. [2] Any contracts, policies or other legal instruments which provide any indemnification or indemnify your town/city/municipality for vehicle related risks, automobiles, or other mobility/transportation risks or perils. Please also provide the amounts of claim(s) and/or settlements for the previous ten (10) years, including any NDA agreements. [3] Any contracts, policies or other legal instruments which provide any indemnification or indemnify your town/city/municipality for tort related risks including lawsuit(s) risks or perils. Please also provide the amounts of claim(s) and/or settlements for the previous ten (10) years, including any NDA agreements. [4] Any contracts, policies or other legal instruments which provide any indemnification or indemnify your town/city/municipality for liability related risks including libel, slander, intentional infliction of distress risks or perils. 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

Joanne Perperian SPR26/0946 Page 2 March 27, 2026 Please also provide the amounts of claim(s) and/or settlements for the previous ten (10) years, including any NDA agreements. [5] Any contracts, policies or other legal instruments which provide any indemnification or indemnify your town/city/municipality for liability risks or perils such of errors and omissions. Please also provide the amounts of claim(s)and/or settlements for the previous ten (10) years, including any NDA agreements. The City responded on March 16, 2026. Unsatisfied with the response, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/0946, was opened as a result. 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, § 10A(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(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 agency or municipality 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(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. 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. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. The City’s March 16th Response In its March 16, 2026 response, the City provides records responsive to Items 1, 3, and 5 of the request, and indicates that it does not possess records responsive to Items 2 and 4 of the request. Current Appeal In the appeal petition, the requestor argues the following: The response does not include any claims, settlements, or NDA’s at all. The second portion specifically requested vehicle related claims, settlements, and NDA’s, of which the city has many but did not provide a single one. The third, fourth, and fifth portions of the request specifically requested tort/legal related

Joanne Perperian SPR26/0946 Page 3 March 27, 2026 claims, settlements, and NDA’s, of which the city has many but did not provide a single one. The response states that the “legal department” has no responsive records to this portion of your request, the request was for the entirety of the city. Additional Records The City is advised that the duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). Further, in accordance with the Public Records Law, custodians are expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist requestors in obtaining the desired information. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5). Based on the requestor’s appeal, it is unclear whether the City possesses additional records responsive to the request. If the City does possess additional responsive records, it must either provide the records, or cite an exemption to the Public Records Law, and explain with specificity how such an exemption applies to withhold or redact the records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv) (a written response must “identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based”). The City must clarify this matter. Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide the requestor with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. The requestor may appeal the substantive nature of the City’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Commonwealth Transparency