FOIL-AO-19190

From: Jobin-Davis, Camille (DOS)
Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2014 10:34 AM
To:
Subject: FOIL - transcript

Dear,

This will confirm the opinion of this office, that if legal representation is secured through an insurance carrier for an agency such as a school district, and the law firm secured by the insurance carrier obtains copies of records in order to best represent the agency, the records obtained by the law firm are not "records" of the district, as defined by the Freedom of Information Law. My advice would change if there were a provision in the contract between the school district and the insurance carrier that required the law firm to provide records obtained through the course of its representation to the district upon request.

The beginning of the following advisory opinion is in keeping with this opinion: http://docs.dos.ny.gov/coog/ftest/f17762.html

Should you prefer a more formal advisory opinion, in the nature of the one linked above, please reply, and I will place your request in our queue.

Thank you.

Camille

Camille S. Jobin-Davis, Esq.
Assistant Director
NYS Committee on Open Government
Department of State
99 Washington Avenue, Suite 650
Albany, NY 12231
518-474-2518
518-474-1927 fax
camille.jobin-davis@dos.ny.gov
www.dos.ny.gov/coog

FOIL-AO-f19190
19190