Opinion ID: 6356993
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Exceptions Log

Text: [¶ 12] Pursuant to FOAA, a person or agency that refuses access to a public record is required, within five business days after receiving the request, to provide the requesting party with written notice of the denial, stating the reason for the denial .... 1 M.R.S. § 408-A(4). Additionally, in this particular proceeding the court ordered OAG to file an Exceptions Log itemizing the documents at issue and the reason(s) they were withheld. OAG complied with the requirements of both the statute and the order. Dubois and Fedder's reliance on the more extensive exceptions log requirements created in Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(A) is misplaced, because neither FOAA nor the court's scheduling order incorporates that Rule's procedure for pretrial discovery. See 1 M.R.S. §§ 400 - 414. The exceptions log provided to Dubois and Fedder was sufficient to provide them with information necessary to assert their rights pursuant to FOAA, and the court did not deprive Dubois and Fedder of their due process rights when it declined to order OAG to submit a more detailed exceptions log.