Request By:
Ms. Teresa Ann Isaac
Attorney at Law
203 West Second Street
Lexington, Kentucky 40507
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Carl Miller, Assistant Attorney General
You have appealed to the Attorney General under KRS 61.880 stating that the Kentucky Housing Corporation has denied you access to certain public records which you requested to inspect and has also failed to acknowledge your request. You describe the records as "two audits or reviews made in July and August of 1979 by Coopers and Lybrand upon the office records of Samuel T. Isaac & Associates, Inc."
You state that you requested to inspect these documents in December, 1979 under the Open Records Act, KRS 61.870-61.884. You further state that in litigation in the Franklin Circuit Court you did receive access by a subpoena duces tecum to the August audit but the Kentucky Housing Corporation refused to provide the July audit claiming that this material did not exist in its files; that an attorney for Coopers and Lybrand stated that the results of the July audit are in Coopers and Lybrand's files and claimed a privilege of confidentiality between accountant and client; that the litigation has been settled out of court, but you are still seeking to get a copy of the July audit under the Open Records Act.
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
The Kentucky Housing Corporation is a "public agency" as defined in KRS 61.870 and is subject to the provisions of the Open Records Law.
When any person makes a written request to inspect a public record the public agency involved is required to make a written response within three days either granting inspection of the record or stating why inspection will be denied. KRS 61.872. This statute further provides that if the person to whom the application is directed does not have custody or control of the record requested, such person shall so notify the applicant and shall furnish the name and location of the custodian of the public record, if such facts are known to him.
It is our opinion that a claim of confidentiality between accountant and client cannot be used to defeat the inspection of a record which is otherwise not exempt by law. It is the responsibility of the public agency involved to obtain a copy of the record and make it available to the requester.
In summary, it is our opinion that the Kentucky Housing Corporation should make a proper response to your request to inspect the July, 1979 audit of Samuel T. Issac & Associates, Inc. and that if there is no lawful reason for denying inspection of the record, and a copy, if requested, the agency should comply with the request for the record by making it available. If the record is not in the possession of the agency but is in the possession of the agency's accountant, the agency should obtain a copy of the record and make it available. As directed by statute, we are sending a copy of this opinion to the Kentucky Housing Corporation.