Public Records Act—request for records regarding executive orders—mediation requirements—no evidence of compliance—In an action brought by a group of bar owners and employees (plaintiffs) challenging executive orders issued by the governor (defendant) restricting plaintiffs' businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the trial court properly dismissed plaintiffs' claim under the Public Records Act–alleging that defendant failed to comply with their request for public records related to the executive orders–where plaintiffs did not satisfy the mediation requirements outlined in the Act, thereby depriving the trial court of jurisdiction to decide the merits of the claim. Specifically, plaintiffs' complaint did include a request for mediation (or, alternatively, a waiver of the mediation requirement), but there was no evidence showing that plaintiffs appointed a mediator, conducted mediation, notified the trial court of the results, or established that waiver was appropriate. N.C. Bar and Tavern Ass'n v. Stein , No. 126PA24 (N.C. Aug. 22, 2025) (Author: Justice Phil Berger, Jr.)

North Carolina Railroad Company—private company—State sole shareholder—not subject to Public Records Act—The North Carolina Railroad Company–a private company whose sole shareholder was the State of North Carolina and which was organized and operated for the benefit of the public–was not an agency or subdivision of the North Carolina government subject to the Public Records Act. Although, among other things, the State was the company's sole shareholder, the State selected the company's board members, and the State would receive the company's assets in the event of the company's dissolution, nonetheless the General Assembly indicated its intent in relevant legislation that the company should not be considered an entity of the State, and decisions of other State entities also supported this conclusion. Furthermore, the company consistently maintained its separate corporate identity and made decisions independently, demonstrating that the State's exercise of authority over the company was in its capacity as shareholder rather than as sovereign. S. Env't Law Ctr. v. N.C. Railroad Co. , 378 N.C. 202 (2021) (Author: Justice Sam Ervin, IV)

Public university—student disciplinary records—effect of federal law on state disclosure requirement—Student disciplinary records sought pursuant to the Public Records Act (PRA)–including the name of the student, the violation committed, and any sanction imposed by the university, but not the date of offense–must be disclosed as public records, despite the records also qualifying as educational records under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The federal and state law were not in conflict with each other under these circumstances, and the federal law did not grant discretion to the university to determine whether the records should be disclosed. Therefore, FERPA did not operate to preempt the PRA, either through the doctrine of conflict preemption or field preemption, so as to protect from disclosure the disciplinary records at issue. DTH Media Corp. v. Folt , 374 N.C. 292 (2020) (Author: Justice Michael Morgan)

Court records—private party request for copy of Automated Criminal/Infraction System—nonexclusive contracts—sole means of remote electronic access—The Court of Appeals erred by concluding that the Public Records Act provided the legal basis for granting plaintiff private companies' request seeking a copy of the Automated Criminal/Infraction System (ACIS) from the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts. While the Public Records Act applies generally to state government records, N.C.G.S. § 7A-109 is specifically limited to court records. The General Assembly intended that the nonexclusive contracts authorized in section 7A-109(d) be the sole means of remote electronic access to ACIS. This case was remanded to the Court of Appeals for consideration of plaintiffs' remaining issues on appeal. LexisNexis Risk Data Mgmt., Inc. v. N.C. AOC , 368 N.C. 180 (2015) (Author: Justice Robert Edmunds, Jr.)

Public records request—noncompliance with statutory enforcement procedure—lack of jurisdiction—In a declaratory judgment action filed by an association of private bar owners (plaintiffs) challenging the governor's issuance of executive orders during a pandemic closing bars for public health reasons, in which plaintiffs sought attorney fees for an alleged violation of the Public Records Act, where plaintiffs failed to comply with the requirements of N.C.G.S. § 7A-38.3(E)(a)–although plaintiffs requested mediation in their complaint, they did not take steps to initiate or participate in mediation–the trial court lacked jurisdiction to compel disclosure of records sought by plaintiffs and, therefore, had no jurisdiction to rule on plaintiffs' claim for attorney fees pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 132-9(a). N.C. Bar & Tavern Ass'n v. Cooper , 293 N.C. App. 402 (2024) (Author: Judge April Wood)

Public Records Act request—electronic survey form and responses—records created or owned by public officials—in sole physical custody of third party—subject to disclosure—Under the plain language of the Public Records Act, documents created or owned by public officials but possessed solely by a third party constitute "public records." Therefore, in an action filed by a media group (plaintiff) against a city (defendant), where a private consulting firm–pursuant to a contract with defendant–had developed a public leadership survey for city council members, emailed the survey to each council member in the form of a unique hyperlink, and then stored the responses in the firm's own server, the trial court erred in granting summary judgment for defendant on plaintiff's request for a declaratory judgment that the survey form and responses constituted "public records" subject to disclosure under the Act. Gray Media Grp., Inc. v. City of Charlotte , 290 N.C. App. 384 (2023) (Author: Judge Allison Riggs)

Public records request—temporary protective order sought by the State—subject matter jurisdiction—no summons—no authority to initiate the action—After the trial court dissolved a temporary protective order (TPO)–requested by the District Attorney–preventing a coalition of media companies from accessing documents relating to the State's investigation of a local inmate's death, the State's appeal from the trial court's decision was dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The underlying TPO proceeding had two jurisdictional defects: first, the District Attorney did not issue a summons notifying the media coalition of its request for the TPO as required under Civil Procedure Rule 4(a); and second, the State lacked authority to bring the action in the first place where the N.C. Public Records Act only permits the party requesting public records to initiate judicial action seeking enforcement of its request. In re Pub. Recs. Request to DHHS , 283 N.C. App. 143 (2022) (Author: Judge John Arrowood)

Mediated settlement agreement—memorandum of understanding—enforcement—trial court's oversight—In a public records action in which the parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) after attending mediation–which limited the scope of plaintiff's public records request–the trial court's determination that defendant state agency "materially and substantially complied with" the MOU and the Public Records Act was supported by the evidence and the court's findings. The state agency produced over 13,000 pages of responsive records to plaintiff and provided detailed information on the methodology it used to ensure compliance with its obligations under the MOU as well as sworn affidavits attesting to its efforts. Plaintiff did not provide specific reasons, other than speculation, that would support his argument that the agency did not actually conduct the required searches or that additional documents existed that were not produced, and the trial court's actions demonstrated sufficient oversight of the case. Ochsner v. N.C. Dep't of Revenue , 268 N.C. App. 391 (2019) (Author: Judge Donna Stroud)

Educational records—student discipline—Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act—no conflict with state law—Officials of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were required to release certain student disciplinary records related to sexual assaults, requested by news organizations pursuant to the Public Records Act. The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g (2017), did not prohibit the University's compliance with the records request, to the extent it requested the names of the offenders, the nature of each violation, and the sanctions imposed. DTH Media Corp. v. Folt , 259 N.C. App. 61 (2018) (Author: Judge John Tyson)

Educational records—student discipline—public policy arguments—In a Public Records Act case, the Court of Appeals declined to address university officials' public policy arguments concerning the effects of the disclosure of certain student disciplinary records. Normally, questions of public policy are for the legislature. DTH Media Corp. v. Folt , 259 N.C. App. 61 (2018) (Author: Judge John Tyson)

Public Records Act—production of documents—lack of subject matter jurisdiction—failure to initiate mediation within 30 days of responsive pleading—The trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to enter a challenged order compelling the Town of Kill Devil Hills to produce documents under our State's Public Records Act to plaintiff judge where plaintiff did not satisfy the requirements of N.C.G.S. § 132-9(a) by his failure to initiate mediation within 30 days of the Town's filing of a responsive pleading as required by N.C.G.S. § 7A-38.3E. Tillett v. Town of Kill Devil Hills , 257 N.C. App. 223 (2017) (Author: Judge Richard Dietz)

Mass request—reasonable accommodation—Summary judgment was properly granted for defendants in an action under the Public Records Act where plaintiff made a request for a mass search of all records and defendants made reasonable accommodations to allow plaintiff timely access. Brooksby v. N.C. Admin. Office of Courts , 248 N.C. App. 471 (2016) (Author: Judge Robert Hunter, Jr.)