The Supreme Court announced that it has added a new OPRA case to its docket. The case, with the ungainly title of Matter of NJ Firemens Assn Obligation to Provide Relief Applications, involves two issues: (1) whether a public body may file a declaratory judgment action concerning whether requested records may be withheld, and (2) whether the requestor should be granted access to the records sought here, which show the name of a particular applicant for a financial relief assistance award and the amount awarded.

The Appellate Division determined that OPRA does not allow record custodians to bring declaratory actions against requestors to enforce the claimed right to withhold the requested records. The court also ruled that the requested relief application records had to be disclosed, concluding that the requestor’s interest in disclosure of the information about one specific applicant outweighed the applicant’s privacy interests.

This is the third OPRA case now pending before the Court, joining Lyndhurst (criminal investigatory records) and Gilleran (security exemptions).