February 14, 2011

Mr. Tyler F. Wallach

Assistant City Attorney

City of Fort Worth

1000 Throckmorton Street, 3^rd Floor

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

OR2011-02191

Dear Mr. Wallach:

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# 408994 (W005177-111710).

The City of Fort Worth (the "city") received a request for information related to a specified fatal accident. You state you have redacted Texas motor vehicle record information under section 552.130 of the Government Code pursuant to previous determinations issued to the city. ⁽¹⁾ You also state you have redacted social security numbers pursuant to section 552.147 of the Government Code and personal e-mail addresses pursuant to section 552.137 of the Government Code and the previous determination issued in Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009). ⁽²⁾ You state some responsive information will be released to the requestor. You claim some of the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Initially, we note, and you acknowledge, that the city did not comply with its fifteen-business-day deadline under section 552.301(e) of the Government Code. See Gov't Code § 552.301(e)(1). The submitted information, therefore, is presumed to be subject to required public disclosure and must be released, unless there is a compelling reason to withhold any of the information. See id. § 552.302; Simmons v. Kuzmich, 166 S.W.3d 342, 350 (Tex. App.--Fort Worth 2005, no pet.); Hancock v. State Bd. of Ins., 797 S.W.2d 379, 381 (Tex. App.--Austin 1990, no writ). This statutory presumption can generally be overcome when information is confidential by law or third-party interests are at stake. See Open Records Decision Nos. 630 at 3 (1994), 325 at 2 (1982). We note the city raises section 552.101 of the Government. In addition, we note some of the submitted information is subject to section 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽³⁾ Because sections 552.101 and 522.130 of the Government Code can provide compelling reasons to withhold information, we will consider the applicability of these exceptions to the submitted information.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This section encompasses the doctrine of common-law privacy, which protects information that (1) contains highly intimate or embarrassing facts, the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person, and (2) is not of legitimate concern to the public. Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 685 (Tex. 1976). This office has found that some kinds of medical information or information indicating disabilities or specific illnesses is protected by common-law privacy. See Open Records Decision Nos. 470 (1987) (illness from severe emotional and job-related stress), 455 (1987) (prescription drugs, illnesses, operations, and physical handicaps). Upon review, we conclude the information we have marked is highly intimate or embarrassing and of no legitimate public concern. Thus, the city must withhold the information we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy.

We note some of the remaining information is subject to section 552.130 of the Government Code. Section 552.130 provides that information relating to a motor vehicle operator's license, driver's license, motor vehicle title, or registration issued by a Texas agency is excepted from public release. Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(1), (2). Accordingly, the city must withhold the information we have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code.

In summary, the city must withhold the information we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy, as well as the information we have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code. The remaining 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,

Jennifer Burnett

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JB/vb

Ref: ID# 408994

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. See Open Records Letter Nos. 2006-14726 (2006) and 2007-00198 (2007); see also Gov't Code § 552.301(a); Open Records Decision No. 673 at 7-8 (2001).

2. Section 552.147(b) of the Government Code authorizes a government body to redact a living person's social security number from public release without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office under the Act. Gov't Code § 552.147(b). In addition, Open Records Decision No. 684 is a previous determination authorizing all governmental bodies to withhold ten categories of information, including an e-mail address of a member of the public under section 552.137 of the Government Code, without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision.

3. The Office of the Attorney General will raise a mandatory exception on behalf of a governmental body, but ordinarily will not raise other exceptions. Open Records Decision Nos. 481 (1987), 480 (1987), 470 (1987).

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