Lee v. Board of Trustees

We reverse the order denying appellant’s motion for attorney’s fees. Section 119.12, Florida Statutes (2009), authorizes an award of fees when an agency has “refused to permit a public record to be inspected or copied” in violation of chapter 119. Although fees are not warranted when the entity in charge of the public records at issue was reasonably and understandably unsure of its status as an agency, New York Times Co. v. PHH Mental Health Services, Inc., 616 So.2d 27 (Fla.1993), there is no comparable requirement when agency status is not in doubt, nor has there been since the 1984…