Detroit Free Press, Inc v. Family Independence Agency

Defendant, Family Independence Agency (fia), appeals by leave granted from an order reversing the decision of the fia director to deny a request by plaintiff, Detroit Free Press, Inc., for the release of fourteen fia files. The circuit court concluded that the director abused his discretion in denying plaintiff’s request under the Child Protection Law (cpl), MCL 722.621 et seq. On appeal, defendant argues that the circuit court clearly erred in finding that the director abused his discretion in refusing to release the files. We reverse and remand.

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In March 2001, plaintiff requested “the files…