Court Opinion

ID: 9748679
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 16:10:17.252737+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:38.400738
License: Public Domain

JOHN C. HOLSTEIN, Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur in Parts I through IV. However, I respectfully dissent from part V and its conclusion that the provision authorizing a public agency to “bring suit at the expense of the public governmental body,” as used in sec. 610.027.5, means that a public agency must pay the attorney fees of all parties who happen to become parties to such suit.
Without doubt, sec. 610.027.5 is to be liberally construed to promote the public policy that public records are to be open to the public. Sec. 610.011.1, RSMo 1994. However, that section should not be so liberally construed as to bring about an absurd result Schneider v. State Div. Of Water Safety, 748 S.W.2d 677, 678 (Mo. banc 1988). Under the majority’s analysis, the sheriff would have been forced to pay KRCG’s attorney fees even if the sheriff had won on the merits of its suit.
Furthermore, this result is unreasonable because it does not promote the release of public records. Instead, it will discourage public governmental bodies from taking the initiative and going to court to determine whether the information sought is indeed a public record where it has reasonable doubt. Indeed, no right thinking governmental body will again seek judicial advice, knowing that it must pay for all the other parties’ attorney fees, whether such parties are seeking to compel or prevent1 the disclosure. But if that governmental entity waits and lets the party seeking the information file suit first, that governmental body will only pay the other side’s attorney fees if it is found to have purposefully violated secs. 610.010 to 610.027. Sec. 610.027.3. In a case like the present one, if the sheriff had simply released the record and such disclosure proved to be improper, the sheriff faced potential liability to the persons injured by the disclosure. Where the government has doubt about the propriety of disclosure in the future, it will be in the best interests of the public governmental body to let the party seeking the information go to court first. That result is wholly inconsistent with promoting disclosure.
Usually, parties are not entitled to an award of attorney’s fees absent a contract, statute allowing for the award or in rare equitable situations. Harris v. Union Electric Co., 766 S.W.2d 80, 89 (Mo. banc 1989). Here the particular subsection in question does not mention attorney’s fees. Rather, the duty to pay such fees is a matter of judicial construction. Bringing suit at the “expense” of the governing body should mean no more than its plain meaning permits, which is that the governmental agency may not charge the party seeking the records any fee for the agen-*885c/s cost in bringing suit. This meaning is made clearer when sec. 610.027.5 is read in conjunction and in context with sec. 610.026.1. Section 610.027.5 provides a check against a governmental body requiring a requesting party to advance its expenses of suit as “reasonable fees for providing access to” public records. See. 610.026.1.
If the legislature wished to assess all parties’ attorney fees to the governmental agency, regardless of how meritless those parties’ claims may be, it knows how to make such provision. In fact, the General Assembly has demonstrated that it knows how to provide for the award of attorney’s fees in “open records” cases by making specific provision therefore in another subsection of the same statute. See sec. 610.027.3. By specifying the limited circumstances under which attorney fees may be awarded, it is contrary to both the canons of construction and sound reason to say that the legislature had a secret intent to award such fees in other circumstances.
Since the government must bear all attorney fees for all parties regardless of outcome, the Court’s construction will only serve to encourage meritless challenges, unnecessary discovery and motions, and frivolous appeals when a governmental body seeks judicial guidance regarding open records. Moreover, the interpretation will ensure that governmental bodies will not seek such guidance, and parties requesting disclosure will be forced to file suit in doubtful cases. That is inconsistent with a “liberal interpretation” that promotes disclosure. Sec. 610.011.
For these reasons, I respectfully dissent from part V of the majority opinion.

. One having a liberty or property interest at stake if a disclosure occurs and whose interests are not adequately protected by the governmental body is entitled to intervene under Rule 52.12(a) in order to prevent disclosure. Moreover, where multiple media outlets are seeking a record, all would be required to be joined or intervene. Under the majority interpretation, each of these parties would be entitled to its own counsel at government expense.