April 9, 2010

Ms. Neera Chatterjee

Public Information Coordinator

The University of Texas System

201 West Seventh Street

Austin, Texas 78701-2902

OR2010-05027

Dear Ms. Chatterjee:

You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 376447.

The University of Texas System (the "system") received a request for any lease agreements with Lifecare Management Services, L.L.C. ("Lifecare") relating to the real property located at a specified address. Although you take no position on release of the requested information, you explain that the submitted information may implicate the proprietary interests of Lifecare. Accordingly, you have notified Lifecare of this request for information and of its right to submit arguments to this office as to why the submitted information should not be released. See Gov't Code § 552.305(d); Open Records Decision No. 542 (1990) (statutory predecessor to section 552.305 permitted governmental body to rely on interested third party to raise and explain applicability of exception to disclosure under certain circumstances). We have reviewed the submitted information.

We note that an interested third party is allowed ten business days after the date of its receipt of the governmental body's notice to submit its reasons, if any, as to why information relating to that party should not be released. See Gov't Code § 552.305(d)(2)(B). As of the date of this decision, we have not received any correspondence from Lifecare. Thus, Lifecare has not demonstrated that it has a protected proprietary interest in any of the submitted information. See id. § 552.110(a)-(b); Open Records Decision Nos. 661 at 5-6 (1999) (to prevent disclosure of commercial or financial information, party must show by specific factual evidence, not conclusory or generalized allegations, that release of requested information would cause that party substantial competitive harm), 552 at 5 (1990) (party must establish prima facie case that information is trade secret), 542 at 3 (1990). Accordingly, the system may not withhold any of the submitted information based upon the proprietary interests of Lifecare. As the system raises no exceptions to disclosure, the submitted information must be released to the requestor.

This letter ruling is limited to the particular information at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other information or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/index_orl.php, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act must be directed to the Cost Rules Administrator of the Office of the Attorney General, toll free, at (888) 672-6787.

Sincerely,

Adam Leiber

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

ACL/rl

Ref: ID# 376447

Enc. Submitted documents

cc: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

c: Mr. Erik Pahl

Lifecare Management Services

5560 Tennyson Parkway

Plano, Texas 75024-3532

(w/o enclosures)

POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US
An Equal Employment Opportunity Employer