News Reporter Co., Inc. v. Columbus County

GEER, Judge.

This appeal arises from the refusal of defendant Columbus County and its County Manager, defendant James Varner, to make available to plaintiff newspapers, under the Public Records Act, N.C. Gen.Stat. §§ 132-1 et seq. (2005), a letter prepared by a county employee and sent to the Columbus County Board of Commissioners regarding the Columbus County medical director contract. Based upon our review of the letter, we hold that the trial court erred in concluding that the entire letter was protected from disclosure under exceptions to the Public Records Act as applicable to counties.…