Request By:
Gregory W. Marlow # 85125
Dorm 4
Northpoint Training Center
P.O. Box 479
Burgin KY 40310Kenneth A. Connelly, Jr.
9706 Taylorsville Road
Louisville KY 40299
Opinion
Opinion By: Albert B. Chandler III, Attorney General; James M. Ringo, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
This matter is before the Attorney General on appeal by Gregory W. Marlow who asks this office to determine whether the failure of Kenneth A. Connelly, an attorney once employed to settle the estate of Mr. Marlow's mother, to provide him with copies of certain records related to the estate was a violation of the Open Records Act. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that Mr. Connelly is not subject to the requirements of the Open Records Act and, thus, cannot be said to have violated the Act.
This office has consistently recognized that a private corporation does not come within the purview of the Open Records Act unless it derives at least 25 percent of the funds expended by it in the Commonwealth from state or local authority funds. KRS 61.870(1)(h). 97-ORD-114; 99-ORD-218; 01-ORD-24.
By letter dated March 5, 2001, Mr. Connelly advised that he is an attorney in the private practice of law and does not receive funds from state or local governments. He further advised that he would nevertheless try to assist Mr. Marlow in obtaining the records he was seeking. Under these facts, Mr. Connelly, as an attorney in private practice, does not fall within the definition of a "public agency" to which the Open Records Act applies. 01-ORD-24. Accordingly, we conclude that Mr. Connelly's actions relative to the request of Mr. Marlow did not constitute a violation of the Act.
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.