A recent unpublished Appellate Division opinion, Rosario v. NYNJ Port Authority, provides a reminder of the limited nature of OPRA’s exemption for records related to an investigation that does not involve a criminal matter.

Rosario involved the Port Authority’s denial of a request by the victim of a traffic accident for records related to the incident. The basis for denial was that there was an investigation in progress regarding the accident. But the applicable section of OPRA, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-3, allows withholding of such records only if disclosure would be “inimical to the public interest.” See this post for a discussion of the Supreme Court’s interpretation of this statutory section.

The court upheld the trial court’s order requiring disclosure of the requested records. It concluded that the requestor had a strong interest in obtaining the records for the purpose of filing tort litigation concerning the accident, and the Port Authority had failed to provide any support for the claim that there would be harm from disclosure under the facts here.