State ex rel. Fenley v. Ohio Historical Society

The issue presented by this mandamus action is whether R.C. 149.43 requires a custodian of public records to mail copies of those records upon request. For the reasons which follow, we find that a custodian of public records has no clear legal duty under R.C. 149.43(B) to transmit copies of those records by mail, and we deny the writ.

R.C. 149.43(C) authorizes a person who allegedly is aggrieved by a governmental unit’s failure to comply with R.C. 149.43(B) to commence a mandamus action to force compliance, and also to seek reasonable attorney fees. Before a writ of mandamus will issue in a…