August 20, 2012

Ms. Michelle M. Kretz

Assistant City Attorney

City of Fort Worth

1000 Throckmorton Street

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

OR2012-13101

Dear Ms. Kretz:

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# 462429 (City of Fort Worth PIR No. W017489).

The City of Fort Worth (the "city") received a request for information from a specified time period concerning 33 named individuals. You inform us that some of the requested information will be released. You state the city has redacted certain information pursuant to Open Records Decision No. 670 (2001), which is a previous determination by this office authorizing a governmental body to redact information subject to section 552.117(a)(2) of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ 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. ⁽²⁾

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 if it (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). To demonstrate the applicability of common-law privacy, both prongs of this test must be established. Id. at 681-82. This office has found some kinds of medical information or information indicating disabilities or specific illnesses are excepted from required public disclosure under common-law privacy. See Open Records Decision No. 455 (1987) (prescription drugs, illnesses, operations, and physical handicaps). You have marked the information you claim is protected by common-law privacy. Upon review, we find the information we have marked is highly intimate or embarrassing and of no legitimate concern to the public. Accordingly, the city must withhold this information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy. The city has failed to demonstrate, however, how any of the remaining information is highly intimate or embarrassing and not of legitimate public concern. Therefore, the city may not withhold any of this information under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy. As no exceptions to disclosure are raised for the remaining information, the city must release it.

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,

Kenneth Leland Conyer

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

KLC/bhf

Ref: ID# 462429

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Ref: ID# 462429

GREG MADDEX

C/O MICHELLE M. KRETZ

ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY

CITY OF FORT WORTH

1000 THROCKMORTON STREET

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Open Records Decision No. 670 authorizes all governmental bodies to withhold the current and former home addresses and telephone numbers, personal cellular telephone and pager numbers, social security numbers, and family member information of peace officers under section 552.117(a)(2) without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision. See ORD 670 at 6.

2. Although you inform us that the city failed to comply with the time periods prescribed by subsections 552.301(b) and (e) of the Government Code, we note both of the city's submissions were timely under these subsections. See Gov't Code § 552.301(a), (b), (e).

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