(A) All records are the property of the public office concerned and shall not be removed, destroyed, mutilated, transferred or otherwise damaged or disposed of, in whole or in part, except as provided by law or under the rules adopted by the Records Commission. Those records shall be delivered by outgoing officials and employees to their successors and shall not be otherwise removed, destroyed, mutilated or transferred, or destroyed unlawfully.
(R.C. § 149.351)
(B) Any person who is aggrieved by the removal, destruction, mutilation or transfer of, or by other damage to or disposition of a record in violation of division (A) above, or by threat of such removal, destruction, mutilation, transfer or other damage to or disposition of such record, may commence either or both of the following in the County Court of Common Pleas:
(1) A civil action for injunction relief to compel compliance with division (A) above, and to obtain an award of the reasonable attorney’s fees incurred by the person in the civil action; or
(2) A civil action to recover a forfeiture in the amount of $1,000 for each violation, but not to exceed a cumulative total of $10,000, regardless of the number of violations, and to obtain an award of the reasonable attorney’s fees incurred by the person in the civil action not to exceed the forfeiture amount recovered.
(R.C. § 149.351(B)(2))
(C) (1) A person is not aggrieved by a violation of division (A) above if clear and convincing evidence shows that the request for a record was contrived as a pretext to create potential liability under this section. The commencement of a civil action under division (B) above waives any right under this chapter to decline to divulge the purpose for requesting the record, but only to the extent needed to evaluate whether the request was contrived as a pretext to create potential liability under this section.
(R.C. § 149.351(C)(1))
(2) In a civil action under division (B) above, if clear and convincing evidence shows that the request for a record was a pretext to create potential liability under this section, the court may award reasonable attorney’s fees to any defendant or defendants in the action.
(R.C. § 149.351(C)(2))
(D) Once a person recovers a forfeiture in a civil action commenced under division (B)(2) above, no other person may recover a forfeiture under that division for a violation of division (A) above involving the same record, regardless of the number of persons aggrieved by a violation of division (A) above or the number of civil actions commenced under this section.
(R.C. § 149.351(D))
(E) A civil action for injunctive relief under division (B)(1) above or a civil action to recover a forfeiture under division (B)(2) above shall be commenced within five years after the day in which division (A) above was allegedly violated or was threatened to be violated.
(R.C. § 149.351(E))
(Ord. 4134, passed 5-10-2012) Penalty, see § 10.99