Thursday, October 1, 2009

Order Requiring NCAA To Produce Records Under Florida's Public Disclosure Laws Affirmed

In National Collegiate Athletic Association v. The Associated Press; Cape etc., et al. (1D09-4385), the First District affirmed  the trial court's order requiring the NCAA to disclose documents relating to the academic scandal at FSU.  Prior posts about this case can be found here and here.

The court stated:

The National Collegiate Athletic Association appeals a final judgment requiring it to disclose certain documents to The Associated Press and other news organizations joined as plaintiffs in an action under Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. We find no error in the decision by the trial court. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment for the plaintiffs.


Records created and maintained by the NCAA are not generally subject to public disclosure. However, the documents at issue in this case were examined by lawyers for a public agency, Florida State University, and used in the course of the agency‟s business. Because the documents were received in connection with the transaction of official business by an agency, they are public records. The NCAA has failed to show that an exception applies under state or federal law, and thus the records must be disclosed.
Disclaimer: GrayRobinson is involved with this case.

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