State ex rel. Dehler v. Kelly

{¶ 1} We affirm the judgment of the court of appeals denying an award of statutory damages to appellant, inmate Lambert Dehler, in a public-records mandamus case for the following reasons.

*310(¶ 2} First, Dehler refused to submit payment for the cost of the requested copies of public records. “R.C. 149.43 does not require a public-records custodian to provide copies of records free of charge; instead, the Public Records Act requires only that copies of public records be made available at cost.” State ex rel. Call v. Fragale, 104 Ohio St.3d 276, 2004-Ohio-6589, 819 N.E.2d 294, ¶ 6. Even though the…