State ex rel. McGowan v. Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority

Mandamus; Adequate Legal Remedy

In his propositions of law, McGowan asserts that he is entitled to a writ of mandamus to compel CMHA to provide him with access to the requested records pursuant to R.C. 149.43. Exceptions to disclosure must be strictly construed against the public records custodian, and the burden to establish an exception is on the custodian. State ex rel. James v. Ohio State Univ. (1994), 70 Ohio St.3d 168, 169, 637 N.E.2d 911, 912.

CMHA does not claim that any of the requested records are exempt from disclosure. In fact, most of the requested records appear to be personnel…