February 10, 2011

Ms. Cynthia Villarreal-Reyna

Section Chief, Agency Counsel

Legal & Regulatory Affairs Division, MC 110-1A

Texas Department of Insurance

P.O. Box 149104

Austin, Texas 78714-9104

OR2011-02042

Dear Ms. Villarreal-Reyna:

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# 408739 (TDI ORR# 110482).

The Texas Department of Insurance (the "department") received a request for information related to two recent rate increase filings. ⁽¹⁾ You state the department will release some of the responsive information to the requestor. Although you take no position on release of the remaining requested information, you explain that release of this information may implicate the proprietary interests of National Union Fire Insurance Company ("National Union"). Accordingly, you have notified National Union of this request for information and of its right to submit arguments to this office as to why the company's 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.

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 National Union. Thus, National Union 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. Accordingly, the department may not withhold any of the submitted information based upon the proprietary interests of National Union. As you raise no exception to disclosure, the information at issue 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,

Sarah Casterline

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

SEC/vb

Ref: ID# 408739

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

John Q. Doyle

National Union Fire Insurance Company

175 Water Street, 18^th Floor

New York City, New York 10038

(w/o enclosures)

Corporation Service Company

For National Union Fire Insurance Company

211 East 7^th Street, Suite 620

Austin, Texas 78701

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We note that the department sought and received clarification of the information requested. See Gov't Code § 552.222(b) (governmental body may communicate with requestor for purpose of clarifying or narrowing request for information); see also City of Dallas v. Abbott, 304 S.W.3d 380, 387 (Tex. 2010).

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