State ex rel. Gambill v. Opperman, 135 Ohio St. 3d 298

Original mandamus action to compel Scioto County Engineer to provide copies of a county tax maps/aerial photographs database and paper maps/photos.
Engineer’s office maintains electronic data files used to generate tax maps, not physical maps; public access is via public terminal and per-document print fees.
Data and maps rely on Esri software and licenses; Esri copyright protection governs ability to reproduce or transmit the software and related data.
Past system upgrades (2006–2009) caused incompatibilities between auditor and engineer systems, preventing straightforward data extraction without Esri software.
Gambill seeks access to the electronic database and cost-based copies; the engineer argues data cannot be separated from copyrighted Esri files and that the cost would be high.
Trial court denied mandamus relief; this court reviews whether the database is a public record, and whether disclosure is exempt or at-cost, and whether fees are reasonable.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the electronic database is a public record under R.C. 149.43.	Gambill contends the database is a public record created by the engineer’s office.	Opperman argues the database is not a record or is inseparable from copyrighted software.	Database is a public record.
Whether the database is exempt from disclosure due to copyright law.	Gambill argues nonexempt data could be separated from copyrighted Esri software.	The data cannot be separated from the copyrighted software.	Nonexempt data cannot be disclosed where inseparable from exempt material; however, court still requires at-cost provision where feasible.
What constitutes 'actual cost' for providing copies of records.	Cost should reflect only direct copying costs, not labor.	Actual cost may include private-contractor extraction costs when reasonable.	Actual cost includes private-contractor extraction costs when reasonable; $2,000 minimum plus hard drive is reasonable here.
Whether paper copies must be provided at actual cost.	Public records should be printed and provided at cost.	Printer charges must reflect actual costs.	Paper copies charged at $1 and $2 per map were shown to be at or below actual cost.
Whether attorney fees are warranted given lack of merit.	Relator seeks attorney fees for mandamus action.	Public records mandamus claim lacks merit.	No attorney-fee award; writ denied.

Physicians Comm. for Responsible Medicine v. Ohio State Univ. Bd. of Trustees, 108 Ohio St.3d 288 (2006-Ohio-903) (mandamus and public records accessibility framework)
McCaffrey v. Mahoning Cty. Prosecutor’s Office, 133 Ohio St.3d 139 (2012-Ohio-4246) (clear and convincing evidence standard for mandamus)
Perrea v. Cincinnati Pub. Schools, 123 Ohio St.3d 410 (2009-Ohio-4762) (copyright exemptions in public records context)
Rea v. Ohio Dept. of Educ., 81 Ohio St.3d 527 (1998-Ohio-432) (copyright exemptions and public records)
Dawson v. Bloom-Carroll Local School Dist., 131 Ohio St.3d 10 (2011-Ohio-6009) (exemption and intermixture of records with privileged materials)
Master v. Cleveland, 76 Ohio St.3d 340 (1996-Ohio-12) (intertwined nonexempt with exempt materials; exemptions applied)
Data Trace Information Servs., L.L.C. v. Cuyahoga Cty. Fiscal Officer, 131 Ohio St.3d 255 (2012-Ohio-753) (definition of actual cost includes contractor costs for copying data)
Warren Newspapers, Inc. v. Hutson, 70 Ohio St.3d 619 (1994-Ohio-400) (actual-cost standard for copies under public records act)