Request By:
[NO REQUESTBY IN ORIGINAL]
Opinion
Opinion By: Albert B. Chandler III, Attorney General; James M. Ringo, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
This matter having been presented to the Attorney General in an open records appeal, and the Attorney General being sufficiently advised, we find that the Montgomery County Schools properly denied Steven Wilson's request for a copy of "the settlement agreement between Montgomery County Schools and former school bus driver Cecil Charles," on the basis that the disclosure of the requested document was prohibited by Order of the United States District Court in settlement of litigation between Mr. Charles and the School System.
The Court's Agreed Order of Dismissal specifically provides that "the terms of the dismissal and settlement shall remain under seal. " We find that 97-ORD-23, and the authorities cited therein, is controlling on this issue. In that decision, we held the City of Nicholasville properly denied an open records request for a copy of a settlement agreement in which the Agreed Order of Dismissal incorporated the settlement agreement and a confidentiality agreement between the parties regarding the terms of settlement. In reaching this decision, we recognized:
This office is without authority to overturn or modify a court-ordered confidentiality agreement. We have previously recognized that public records made confidential by court order are not reachable under the Open Records Act. 94-ORD-139; OAG 92-126.
Acknowledging that this office has no authority to override a court order placing records under a seal of confidentiality, we opined that the validity of the confidentiality agreement in the Agreed Order and whether the public's right of access outweighed the litigant's right of privacy must be raised in a collateral action in the judicial system. A copy of 97-ORD-23 is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882. Pursuant to KRS 61.880(3), the Attorney General should be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceeding.