Ogle v. Hocking Cty. SheriffOgle v. Hocking Cty. Sheriff
Charles R. Ogle, Rockbridge, Ohio, pro se.
Randall L. Lambert and Cassaundra L. Sark, Ironton, Ohio for respondent-appellee.
Hess, J.
{1} Charles R. Ogle appeals the trial court‘s judgment granting summary judgment to Hocking County Sheriff Lanny North on Ogle‘s complaint for a writ of mandamus filed pursuant to the Ohio Public Records Act,
{2} We reject all of Ogle‘s assignments of error and affirm the judgment of the trial court.
I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
{3} On January 6, 2022, Ogle filed a complaint1 for a writ of mandamus against the Sheriff in which he alleged that he requested records from the Sheriff on November 29, 2021. Ogle attached a copy of his November 29 requests to the complaint. Ogle asked for: (1) records of all incidences and interactions with any person and reported by or involving any deputies on September 16, 2016 between the hours of noon and midnight; (2) records regarding physical restraint, detainment, or arrest of any person by any deputy for that same date and time frame; (3) dispatch logs for that same date and time frame; (4) individual deputy logs for that same date and time frame; (5) dispatch logs for September 17, 2016 from noon to midnight; (6) individual deputy logs for September 17, 2016 from noon to midnight; (7) records regarding all citizens who entered the Sheriff‘s office for any purpose on September 17, 2016 from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; (8) records concerning inquiries about the filing of complaints, complaints filed, and interactions between citizens and deputies or other employees of the Sheriff‘s office regarding the filing of a complaint on September 17, 2016 between 6:00 a.m. to 6 p.m.; (9) records concerning inquiries about the filing of complaints, complaints filed, and interactions between citizens and Sheriff Lanny North regarding the filing of complaints on September 17, 2016 between 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; (10) records which provide the name of any
{4} Ogle alleged that he received the Sheriff‘s response to his records request on December 20, 2021. Ogle attached a copy of the Sheriff‘s response, which is dated December 9, 2021, to his complaint. To Ogle‘s first two requests and requests seven through ten, the Sheriff informed Ogle that the requests were overly broad and ambiguous, but if Ogle clarified with specifics, the Sheriff would attempt to locate the records sought. The Sheriff also stated that some of the records were likely outside the retention period and therefore unavailable. The Sheriff informed Ogle that the records he sought in requests three and five had a three-year retention period and the records he sought in requests four and six had a two-year retention period. Therefore, none of the records Ogle requested in numbers three through six were available because they were five years old.
{5} The Sheriff‘s December 9, 2021 response also explained that the office had received a records request from Ogle in April 2021 and, as was explained in response to that April 2021 request, if Ogle was looking for records related to a specific incident and could provide the office with more information or a description of the incident, it would help them in locating and providing the records Ogle was seeking. The letter also explained that information such as report numbers, names of involved parties, the address or area of the incident, and the deputies involved would be some of the information that would assist the office in locating the records.
{6} Ogle alleged that the Sheriff‘s response did not provide an explanation, including legal authority, for why the requests were denied. Ogle claims that the Sheriff‘s
{7} Ogle sought a preemptory writ of mandamus directing the Sheriff to produce the records he requested; preserve records that could apply to cases for which the statute
{8} The Sheriff answered the complaint and amended complaint and admitted that Ogle sent a November 29, 2021 records request, the Sheriff sent a December 9, 2021 response, and the Sheriff did not provide responsive records to the request for the reasons outlined in the December 9 response. The Sheriff admitted that Ogle asked for records by date and time and that the Sheriff is unable to search for records based on date and time because certain requested records are not organized by date and time. The Sheriff denied that he failed to comply with his obligations under
{9} The Sheriff asserted that some of the records Ogle sought are not public records, he is not entitled to a writ of mandamus, he made overly broad and ambiguous record requests, and that his requests require the Sheriff to conduct “improper research” and to create new records to accommodate the requests. The Sheriff also asserted that certain of Ogle‘s requested records were no longer available per the office‘s record retention schedule and that he gave Ogle an opportunity to revise his requests.
{10} A little over a month after the Sheriff filed his answer, the Sheriff filed a motion for summary judgment. Although Ogle‘s complaint focused solely on Ogle‘s November 29, 2021 records request, the Sheriff provided an affidavit that stated that Ogle‘s first records request was made about seven months earlier on April 1, 2021. The Sheriff responded to Ogle‘s April 1 request by response dated April 8, 2021 in which he explained that the request was overly broad and ambiguous, the record retention policy was three years for some of the records requested and two years for others, and, because
Records, reports, logs, images and recordings are not organized by date, but by report numbers, the name of the individual the police encountered, and the address or area the incident occurred. To locate a document by a date, thousands of documents have to be reviewed to find interactions/incidences that occurred on a specific date. Pursuant to Hocking County Sheriff‘s Office Records Retention Schedule (see Affidavit Exhibit A-5), the retention period for accident reports is three years, the retention period for dispatch logs is three years, and the retention period for individual deputy logs (classified as “daily cruiser logs” in the Records Retention Schedule) is two years.
The Sheriff also explained that citizens who enter the Sheriff‘s Office are sometimes documented on dispatch logs, but dispatch logs are only maintained for two years and would not be available in 2021 for visits made in 2016. Surveillance records of citizens entering the building are retained until they are no longer of administrative or evidentiary value and the surveillance from 2016 was no longer available. Communications or interactions between citizens and employees of the Sheriff and/or the Sheriff or inquiries made by citizens about filing a complaint are not documented unless a complaint is filed.
The Hocking County Sheriff‘s Office Records Retention Schedule was reviewed, and approved, by the Hocking County Records Commission. The Records Commission Chair signed the Records Retention schedule on April 27, 2015. The Records Retention Schedule was signed by the Ohio Historical Society on April 30, 2015, and signed by the Auditor of State on May 14, 2015.
The Sheriff‘s Office Records Retention Schedule was included as an exhibit to the Sheriff‘s affidavit.
{11} The Sheriff argued that a writ of mandamus is not warranted because he did not violate the Ohio Public Records Act when he did not produce documents in response to Ogle‘s November 29, 2021 request. He argued that requests one, two, and seven through ten were overly broad and ambiguous and, because the records are not organized by date and time, the requests would require the Sheriff‘s Office to conduct “improper research” and create new files to accommodate Ogle‘s requests. Last, he contended that some of the records were not public records.
{12} The Sheriff argued that
{13} The Sheriff also contended that some of the records Ogle requested were not public records. Ogle‘s eighth and ninth requests sought records of interactions and conversations between an employee of the Sheriff‘s office or the Sheriff and a citizen, none of which are documented. Likewise, persons who make inquiries into filing a complaint, but do not do so, are not documented. If a complaint is filed, then those records are organized by complainant name, not by date or time. Therefore, the Sheriff argued that the records sought in requests eight, nine, and ten do not exist and thus, cannot be produced.
{14} The Sheriff argued that Ogle‘s third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh requests sought documents that no longer exist because they were disposed of in accordance with a valid retention schedule. As to Ogle‘s allegation that the Sheriff violated a May 14, 2010 court order, the Sheriff recited the order‘s language and argued that the order pertained to all the relevant documents in Case No. 10CV0114 that were in the Sheriff‘s possession at the time the order was issued in 2010. A copy of this order was submitted with the Sheriff‘s affidavit. Ogle‘s request pertained to records from September 2016 and none of the 2016 records would have been in the Sheriff‘s possession in 2010. As a result, the May 2010 order does not apply to this case. And, the Sheriff argued that Ogle relied on speculation in claiming that the Sheriff acted improperly.
{15} The Sheriff argued that he provided Ogle an opportunity to revise his requests. His December 9, 2021 letter informed Ogle that records were maintained by report numbers, names of involved parties, deputies involved, and/or address or area of incident and gave him the opportunity to revise his requests. Specifically, the Sheriff responded:
If you would like to clarify this request with specifics, we will attempt to located [sic] the record which you are seeking. * * * it would appear that you are looking for public records related to a specific incident. If you would provide us with more information or description of the incident that you are inquiring about, it would help narrow down our search and assist us in locating and providing the records in which you are seeking * * * Some clarifying information would things [sic] such as report numbers, name(s) of involved parties, address or area of the incident, or deputies involved. If you would like to revise your request with additional clarifying information, we would be more than willing to attempt to fufil [sic] it, if the records still are in existence in accordance with our record retention policies.
The Sheriff argued that Ogle never revised his request and is therefore not entitled to mandamus relief.
{16} The trial court issued a notice advising Ogle and the Sheriff that the Sheriff‘s motion for summary judgment was set for a non-oral hearing on April 20, 2021. The order advised the parties, “If the parties want a chance to file a reply or want oral argument, they should file a written request immediately.” Ogle did not request an oral argument or ask for an evidentiary hearing.
{17} Ogle opposed the summary judgment motion. He incorporated by reference his complaint, amended complaint, Ogle‘s November 29, 2021 request, and the Sheriff‘s December 9, 2021 response, but he did not include any affidavit testimony or other Civ.R. 56 evidence. Ogle argued that the Sheriff‘s statement that he informed Ogle the records were “maintained by report numbers, names of involved parties, deputies
{18} Ogle also asked the court to impose an order on the Sheriff to maintain public records that could apply to cases involving the extended two-year statute of limitations for criminal acts involving a public servant as set forth in
{19} The trial court granted the Sheriff‘s motion. The trial court recognized that the Ohio Public Records Act reflects “the state‘s policy that open government serves the public interest and the democratic system.” As a result,
{20} Specifically addressing Ogle‘s requests, the trial court found that while Ogle used the phrase “any and all” for the type of records he sought in each of the ten record requests, each request was also limited to one date and “a short specific time frame of six to twelve hours but is not limited by the names of the parties or the issues involved.” The trial court found this feature distinguished Ogle‘s requests from the cases the Sheriff cited which involved broad “any and all” requests without limiting to a single date and time. The trial court found, “it is anticipated that over a six or hour twelve [sic] time frame the number of documents would not be too excessive to expect the public agency in this case to comply.” The trial court found that the requests were broad but not overly broad “because each request is limited by a short time frame involved.” The problem was not overbreadth, but that the records were not maintained in a manner that they could be located by time and date: “If the records were maintained by date and time, this would not be a difficult matter to comply with in terms of providing the requested records.”
{21} The trial court stated that its finding that Ogle‘s request was broad but not overly broad was not determinative of the matter. Rather, even though the trial court thought it might be possible to maintain records by time and date, the Sheriff‘s affidavit states that he does not maintain the records by time and date. Instead, they are maintained by report number, the name of the individual encountered by law enforcement, and the address or area where a specific incident occurred. The trial court found that requiring the Sheriff to change its record maintenance to one that included time and date would require considerable expense and time and would require him to go through all records and reclassify them. Additionally, the trial court found that there was “no legal requirement that a county sheriff index his/her records by dates and times” and it “would have very little utility since reasonably most records will be requested and used by law enforcement, as well as by the public, based on reference to a particular incident which occurred, or a particular person who was involved and a location where an incident occurred.” As a result, the trial court found that the Sheriff was complying with his duty to maintain records in a manner that they can be available for inspection or copying in accordance with
{22} The trial court found that to locate documents by time and date as requested by Ogle, the Sheriff would have to create a new index of the documents by time and date so that they could be retrieved in that manner.
The court finds that the Sheriff in this case does not maintain records indexed by date or time of day and that there is no legal requirement that he maintain an index by date and time of records in his office. Such an index would constitute a new record or type of record, and the Sheriff is not legally required to create a new index or record in order to comply with a public records request.
The trial court found that this reasoning applied to all ten of Ogle‘s record requests.
{23} As to Ogle‘s third through sixth requests (which the Sheriff denied because the records were purged in accordance with the records retention policy), the trial court found that these records are not available because they were outside the applicable retention schedules involved. “These records are no longer permanently retained by the Sheriff‘s office and are not subject to disclosure as public records pursuant to Section 149.43 of the Revised Code.”
{24} In addressing Ogle‘s claim for statutory damages, the trial court stated that Ogle argued that he was entitled to statutory damages because he was not provided “an explanation, including legal authority, setting forth why the request was denied” under
{25} Ogle appealed.
II. ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR
{26} Ogle identifies six assignments of error for review:
I. The trial court erred in granting summary judgment to respondent-appellee when there is a genuine issue of material fact regarding respondent-appellee‘s asserted inability to access the requested records by a date and time search of his public records.
II. Respondent-appellee‘s summary judgment affidavit does not meet the requirements of Civ.R. 56(E), as the record contains contradictory evidence and submitted facts provided by respondent-appellee to the same.
III. The trial court erred in the subject public records mandamus case by failing to hold an evidentiary hearing when inconsistent facts/evidence were submitted by respondent-appellee, to that of respondent-appellee‘s public records request response and his summary judgment affidavit.
IV. The trial court erred in finding that, “The Sheriff is already complying with his duty to maintain records in a manner that they can be available for inspection or copying in accordance with division (B) of Section 149.43 of the Revised Code.”
V. The trial court erred in finding that, “Relator Ogle is asking the Sheriff to create a new document[.]”
VI. The trial court erred in finding that, “Relator Ogle is not entitled to statu[t]ory damages” regarding “requests one, two, seven, eight, nine, and ten“, wherein at the same time the trial court found that, “The Sheriff failed to provide an adequate explanation, including legal authority, setting forth why the request was denied” for those same requests.
III. Review of Summary Judgment
A. Standard of Review & Mandamus Requirements
{27} We review the trial court‘s decision on a motion for summary judgment de novo. Smith v. McBride, 130 Ohio St.3d 51, 2011-Ohio-4674, 955 N.E.2d 954, ¶ 12. Accordingly, we afford no deference to the trial court‘s decision and independently review the record and the inferences that can be drawn from it to determine whether summary judgment is appropriate. Harter v. Chillicothe Long-Term Care, Inc., 4th Dist. Ross No.
{28} Summary judgment is appropriate only when the following have been established: (1) that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact; (2) that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; and (3) that reasonable minds can come to only one conclusion, and that conclusion is adverse to the nonmoving party. Civ.R. 56(C); DIRECTV, Inc. v. Levin, 128 Ohio St.3d 68, 2010-Ohio-6279, 941 N.E.2d 1187, ¶ 15. In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court must construe the record and all inferences therefrom in the nonmoving party‘s favor. Civ.R. 56(C). The party moving for summary judgment bears the initial burden to demonstrate that no genuine issues of material fact exist and that they are entitled to judgment in their favor as a matter of law. Dresher v. Burt, 75 Ohio St.3d 280, 292–293, 662 N.E.2d 264 (1996). To meet its burden, the moving party must specifically refer to “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, written admissions, affidavits, transcripts of evidence, and written stipulations of fact, if any, timely filed in the action,” that affirmatively demonstrate that the nonmoving party has no evidence to support the nonmoving party‘s claims. Civ.R. 56(C); Dresher at 293, 662 N.E.2d 264. Moreover, the trial court may consider evidence not expressly mentioned in Civ.R. 56(C) if such evidence is incorporated by reference in a properly framed affidavit pursuant to Civ.R. 56(E). Discover Bank v. Combs, 4th Dist. Pickaway No. 11CA25, 2012-Ohio-3150, ¶ 17; Wagner v. Young, 4th Dist. Athens No. CA1435, 1990 WL 119247, *4 (Aug. 8, 1990). Once that burden is met, the nonmoving party then has a reciprocal burden to set forth specific facts to show that there is a genuine
{29} “Mandamus is the appropriate remedy to compel compliance with
{30} Although the Ohio Public Records Act is accorded liberal construction in favor of access to public records, “the relator must still establish entitlement to the requested extraordinary relief by clear and convincing evidence.” State ex rel. McCaffrey v. Mahoning Cty. Prosecutor‘s Office, 133 Ohio St.3d 139, 2012-Ohio-4246, 976 N.E.2d 877, ¶ 16. Clear and convincing evidence is “that measure or degree of proof which is more than a mere ‘preponderance of the evidence,’ but not to the extent of such certainty as is required ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ in criminal cases, and which will produce in the mind of the trier of facts a firm belief or conviction as to the facts sought to be established.” Cross v. Ledford, 161 Ohio St. 469, 120 N.E.2d 118 (1954), paragraph three of the syllabus. In addition, unlike in other mandamus cases, “[r]elators in public-records cases need not establish the lack of an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law.” State ex rel. Data Trace Information Servs., L.L.C. v. Cuyahoga Cty. Fiscal Officer, 131 Ohio St.3d 255, 2012-Ohio-753, 963 N.E.2d 1288, ¶ 25; see also State ex rel. Pietrangelo v. Avon Lake, 149 Ohio St.3d 273, 2016-Ohio-5725, 74 N.E.3d 419, ¶ 13-14.
B. Accessing Records by Date and Time
{31} For his first assignment of error, Ogle contends that there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the Sheriff could not access the requested records by date and time. He argues that the Sheriff‘s affidavit stated that the records were not organized by date and, to locate them by date, thousands of documents would have to be reviewed to locate the ones Ogle wants. Ogle asserts that the trial court “has apparently made presumptions regarding the form and way in which the requested documents are ‘organized.‘” (Emphasis sic.) Ogle quotes the trial court‘s decision in which the court found that the Sheriff “does not maintain records indexed by date or time of day” and argues that because the Sheriff‘s affidavit did not use the word “maintain” or “index” but only used the word “organize,” the trial court made findings of fact that are found nowhere in the Sheriff‘s affidavit.
{32} We summarily reject this argument. The word “maintain” as used by the trial court is synonymous with the word “organized” as used in the Sheriff‘s affidavit. We have reviewed the trial court‘s decision and compared it with the Sheriff‘s affidavit, and we find no error in the way the trial court summarized the relevant facts.
{33} Ogle also argues that the Sheriff‘s affidavit is ambiguous, vague, and misleading when it states, “To locate a document by a date, thousands of documents have to be reviewed to find interactions/incidences that occurred on a specific date.” He contends that the Sheriff “has offered no evidence in support as to why he has an inability to search his complaints” by date. Ogle contends the trial court needed to hold an evidentiary hearing so that the Sheriff could offer evidence “in support as to why he has an inability to search his complaints” by date. He argues that an evidentiary hearing
{34} We have reviewed the Sheriff‘s affidavit and Ogle‘s memorandum contra and we reject Ogle‘s arguments. The Sheriff‘s affidavit states, “Records, reports, logs, images and recordings are not organized by date, but by report numbers, the name of the individual the police encountered and the address or area the incident occurred. To locate a document by a date, thousands of documents have to be reviewed to find interactions/incidences that occurred on a specific date.” Ogle did not submit any evidence in accordance with Civ.R. 56(E) that contradicted the Sheriff‘s statement that his records are not organized by date. Rather, Ogle made speculative arguments that he finds it “not believable” that the Sheriff cannot access public records by date. “Mere speculation and unsupported conclusory assertions are not sufficient to meet the nonmovant‘s reciprocal burden under Civ.R. 56(E) to withstand summary judgment.” DeepRock Disposal Sols., LLC v. Forte Productions, LLC, 4th Dist. Washington No. 20CA15, 2021-Ohio-1436, ¶ 82, citing Bank of New York Mellon v. Bobo, 2015-Ohio-4601, 50 N.E.3d 229, ¶ 13 (4th Dist.).
{35} We overrule Ogle‘s first assignment of error.
C. The Sheriff‘s Affidavit
{36} For his second assignment of error, Ogle contends that the Sheriff‘s affidavit does not meet the requirements of Civ.R. 56(E). To the extent Ogle believes there was an error in the affidavit, or that it was not based on personal knowledge, he has waived it because he did not move to strike it in the trial court. Nationstar Mtge. LLC v. Payne, 2017-Ohio-513, 85 N.E.3d 249, ¶ 21 (10th Dist.) (“failure to timely move to strike or
{37} Ogle‘s criticism of the affidavit is that it is not sufficiently clear enough; it does not contain enough facts. He asks, “What does ‘organize’ entail?” Ogle argues that the affidavit does not fully explain what type of records are not organized by date. He asks whether it is both “paper” records and “electronic” records. Ogle argues there is confusion and vagueness because the Sheriff‘s affidavit did not provide a detailed account of the recordkeeping and whether there are both paper and electronic files, whether they are arranged alphabetically, and how are they arranged.
{38} Again, the Sheriff‘s affidavit contained a straightforward explanation concerning record organization. The relevant part, which we have quoted before is:
Records, reports, logs, images and recordings are not organized by date, but by report numbers, the name of the individual the police encountered and the address or area the incident occurred. To locate a document by a date, thousands of documents have to be reviewed to find interactions/incidences that occurred on a specific date.
Ogle‘s record requests asked for records based on a date (September 16 or 17, 2016) and a time frame (noon to midnight or 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.). The Sheriff‘s explanation is that the records are not arranged by date and time but by report number, name of individual, and area/address. The affidavit contained sufficient facts for the trial court to conclude that there is no genuine issue of material fact and the records Ogle sought were not organized by date and time.
{39} We overrule Ogle‘s second assignment of error.
C. No Evidentiary Hearing
{40} For his third assignment of error, Ogle argues that the trial court should have held an evidentiary hearing to conduct an “in-depth direct inquiry” of the Sheriff‘s “assertions that he cannot access his records * * * by way of searching with an incident date” and “he could explain what ‘organize’ in regard to his record entails.” Ogle does not believe that the Sheriff cannot search records by date and he argues that he is entitled to a full understanding of how the Sheriff implements the record retention policy.
{41} None of the issues Ogle wants to explore at an evidentiary hearing are material to the question before the trial court. The relevant question was whether the Sheriff should be compelled to produce records in response to Ogle‘s requests. The Sheriff‘s affidavit explained that he could not respond because the only identifier Ogle provided was a date and time and the Sheriff could not locate these records without reviewing thousands of documents because the records were not organized by date. As we explained in rejecting Ogle‘s first assignment of error, Ogle provided no evidence under Civ.R. 56(E) to refute the Sheriff‘s affidavit or to establish by clear and convincing evidence a right to the records. Therefore, a hearing to explore immaterial factual issues or indulge Ogle‘s speculations was unwarranted. The trial court did not err in ruling on the matter based on the evidence before it.
{42} We overrule Ogle‘s third assignment of error.
D. Trial Court‘s Finding that the Sheriff Complied with Duty to Maintain Records
{43} Ogle argued in his memorandum contra that the Sheriff had failed to fulfill his duties under
{44} Ogle contends that the trial court‘s finding that the Sheriff is complying with his duty to maintain public records was not at issue and was used to justify the trial court‘s subsequent finding that the Sheriff would have to create an index or recategorize his records to be able to easily access them by date.
{45} We find nothing erroneous about the trial court‘s analysis. It worked through the statutory language in a methodical manner to analyze the relevant issues. The trial court found that the Sheriff is the person responsible for maintaining the public records of his office and that he is maintaining the records in accordance with his duties under
As dicta, that comment by the trial court is not considered necessary to the decision in the case.
Stated differently, dicta or dictum is an observation or statement in an opinion by the writing judge—* * *—which is unnecessary to resolution of the issues in the case * * *.” Black‘s Law Dictionary 1102 (8th Ed.2004) (“a judicial comment made while delivering a judicial opinion, but one that is unnecessary to the decision in the case and therefore not precedential.“); see also Duck v. Cantoni, 4th Dist. No. 11CA20, 2012-Ohio-351 [2013 WL 440699], ¶ 25.
Peters v. Tipton, 7th Dist. Harrison No. 13 HA 10, 2015-Ohio-3307, 2015 WL 4899641, ¶ 6.
Consequently, if we accept the appellant‘s characterization of the trial court‘s observation as dicta, that comment does not state the holding of the trial court and is not subject to reversal. (Brackets sic.)
Davila v. Simpson, 2018-Ohio-946, 108 N.E.3d 628, ¶ 43-44 (5th Dist.).
{46} We overrule Ogle‘s fourth assignment of error.
E. The Trial Court‘s Finding that Ogle Is Asking the Sheriff to Create a New Document
{47} The Sheriff argued in his motion for summary judgment that the requests sought information that required improper research and/or the creation of new records. The Sheriff cited to case law that holds that a public office is not required to search through records to find ones that contain selected information. E.g., State ex rel. Thomas v. Ohio State Univ., 70 Ohio St.3d 1438, 638 N.E.2d 1041 (1994); State ex rel. Beacon Journal Publishing Co. v. Bodiker, 134 Ohio App.3d 415, 421, 731 N.E.2d 245, 250 (10th Dist. 1999).
{48} The trial court addressed the Sheriff‘s argument and agreed that Ogle‘s requests would require the Sheriff to undertake considerable expense and effort and create a new document. “In essence, for each request, the Relator Ogle is asking the Sheriff to create a new document, which would contain a list of all of the documents of a particular type which were filed within a given time frame. The Sheriff does not maintain any such index of records by date, nor does he have an obligation to create such a record or index just to comply with the Relator Ogle‘s requests.” The trial court found that, even though Ogle‘s records requests were not “overly broad,” they were improper on this other ground.
{49} We find no error in the trial court‘s reasoning; it is supported by the record. The Sheriff explained in his affidavit that records, reports, logs, images, and recordings were not organized by date. Rather, it is all organized by report number, name of
{50} We overrule Ogle‘s fifth assignment or error.
F. Statutory Damages
{51} In his amended complaint, Ogle sought statutory damages under
{52}
{53} The trial court found that the Sheriff properly denied Ogle‘s requests under
{54} The trial court found that the Sheriff‘s December 9, 2021 response explaining that certain requests fell outside the record retention policy “could have been explained in more detail” but nevertheless “meets the requirements that the Sheriff provide an explanation, including legal authority, setting forth why the request was denied.” However, the trial court found that with respect to the remaining requests, “the Sheriff failed to provide an adequate explanation, including legal authority, setting forth why the request was denied. However, the trial found that even though the Sheriff‘s December 9, 2021 response failed to provide an adequate explanation, the Sheriff‘s subsequent affidavit, filed March 21, 2022 did provide an adequate explanation. The trial court quoted from the relevant portion of the affidavit that it found provided the explanation.
{55} The trial court held that because this is not a case where records were provided under
{56} In Ware, the Court found that Ware, who was seeking public records, was not entitled to receive the documents under
Unlike
R.C. 149.43(B) , which requires public records to be “promptly prepared” and made available “within a reasonable period of time” upon request,R.C. 149.43(B)(3) does not impose a timeliness requirement. See State ex rel. Ware v. Giavasis, 160 Ohio St.3d 383, 2020-Ohio-3700, 157 N.E.3d 710, ¶ 11-12. Accordingly, we affirm the court of appeals’ determination that Ware is not entitled to statutory damages underR.C. 149.43(C) * * *.
{57} The trial court properly denied Ogle‘s claim for statutory damages. The Sheriff‘s response coupled with his affidavit provided an adequate explanation and complied with
{58} We overrule Ogle‘s sixth assignment of error.
IV. CONCLUSION
{59} We overrule Ogle‘s assignments of error and sustain the trial court‘s judgment.
JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.
It is ordered that the JUDGMENT IS AFFIRMED and that appellant shall pay the costs.
The Court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this Court directing the Hocking County Court of Common Pleas to carry this judgment into execution.
Any stay previously granted by this Court is hereby terminated as of the date of this entry.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
Smith, P.J. & Wilkin, J.: Concur in Judgment and Opinion.
For the Court
BY:
Michael D. Hess, Judge
NOTICE TO COUNSEL
Pursuant to Local Rule No. 14, this document constitutes a final judgment entry and the time period for further appeal commences from the date of filing with the clerk.