Opinion ID: 4535203
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mandamus claim against Klein

Text: {¶ 10} In proposition of law No. 6, Ullmann contends that regardless of Klein’s late production of public records responsive to her requests, she is still entitled to a writ of mandamus to compel Klein to produce unredacted documents. {¶ 11} “Mandamus is the appropriate remedy to compel compliance with R.C. 149.43, Ohio’s Public Records Act.” State ex rel. Physicians Commt. for Responsible Medicine v. Ohio State Univ. Bd. of Trustees, 108 Ohio St.3d 288, 2006-Ohio-903, 843 N.E.2d 174, ¶ 6; R.C. 149.43(C)(1). Although we liberally construe the Public Records Act in favor of access to public records, Ullmann “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. Unlike in other mandamus cases, relators in publicrecords mandamus cases are not required to establish the lack of an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law. State ex rel. Data Trace Information Servs., 5 SUPREME COURT OF OHIO L.L.C. v. Cuyahoga Cty. Fiscal Officer, 131 Ohio St.3d 255, 2012-Ohio-753, 963 N.E.2d 1288, ¶ 25. {¶ 12} In her merit brief, Ullmann states that she “has finally gotten lots of the documents” she requested from Klein. A public office may produce the requested records prior to the court’s decision, which generally renders a claim involving the failure to produce records moot. State ex rel. Striker v. Smith, 129 Ohio St.3d 168, 2011-Ohio-2878, 950 N.E.2d 952, ¶ 18-22. Ullmann does not indicate whether there are additional records she believes would be responsive to her requests nor does she identify any specific records she believes were not disclosed. Rather, she merely asserts that she needs unredacted records “to ascertain the status of each case and whether they fall under R.C. 3767.41(A).” Because Ullmann fails to identify what public records responsive to her requests remain undisclosed or show that the documents Klein provided were unlawfully redacted (as we determine below, they were not unlawfully redacted), she is not entitled to a writ of mandamus. We dismiss her complaint against Klein as moot.