State ex rel. Philbin v. Cleveland, 2017 Ohio 1031

Relator Andrew P. Philbin submitted broad public-records requests (emails, texts, notes, photos, etc.) on Sept. 16, 2015, directed to Cleveland officials (including City Planning Commission Director Freddy Collier and Councilman Joe Cimperman) about zoning, rezoning, variances, and related topics in Ohio City.
A second, similar request targeted communications to/from Councilman Cimperman’s gmail and phone-based texts.
The parties participated in court-ordered mediation (May 31, 2016) and Philbin amended/clarified his request at mediation; respondents produced records but Philbin claimed many were improperly redacted and that other requested records were withheld.
The respondents filed an answer and a motion for summary judgment but ultimately failed to comply with the court’s January 20, 2017 show-cause order to explain redactions and production completeness.
The court found respondents did not meet their burden to justify redactions or to show all responsive records were produced, and ordered respondents to provide unredacted records within 21 days and awarded costs to Philbin; the court warned of contempt fines for noncompliance.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether relator has a clear legal right to requested records under R.C. 149.43	Philbin argued the requested communications are public records, redactions were improper, and mediation-expanded requests were not fully produced	Respondents did not respond to the court’s show-cause order to justify redactions or production completeness	Court held Philbin has a clear right; issued writ ordering production of unredacted responsive records within 21 days
Whether respondents satisfied burden to justify redactions	Philbin: redactions did not fit statutory exemptions and therefore must be disclosed	Respondents offered no justification to the court after being ordered to show cause	Court held respondents failed to demonstrate exemptions; doubts resolved for disclosure; redactions invalid
Whether respondents produced all records agreed in mediation/amended request	Philbin: respondents withheld responsive records after mediation-expanded request	Respondents did not certify or show they produced all responsive records as ordered	Court held respondents failed to show production completeness and ordered full compliance
Remedies and sanctions for noncompliance	Philbin sought mandamus and costs	Respondents did not oppose or justify noncompliance	Court granted writ of mandamus, awarded costs (including filing fee) to relator, and warned of daily contempt fines for failure to comply

State ex rel. Carr v. Akron, 112 Ohio St.3d 351 (mandamus is the proper remedy to enforce public-records requests)
State ex rel. Physicians Commt. for Responsible Med. v. Ohio State Univ. Bd. of Trustees, 108 Ohio St.3d 288 (mandamus remedy under Ohio Public Records Act)
State ex rel. Gannett Satellite Info. Network v. Shirley, 78 Ohio St.3d 400 (public-records mandamus principles)
State ex rel. McGowan v. Cuyahoga Metro. Hous. Auth., 78 Ohio St.3d 518 (mandamus procedure and remedy under R.C. 149.43)
State ex rel. Rocker v. Guernsey Cty. Sheriff’s Office, 126 Ohio St.3d 224 (Public Records Act construed liberally in favor of disclosure)
State ex rel. Morgan v. Strickland, 121 Ohio St.3d 600 (public offices may review and redact exempt material but bear burden to justify redactions)
State ex rel. Warren Newspapers, Inc. v. Hutson, 70 Ohio St.3d 619 (public office bears burden to prove exemption from disclosure)