Ohio Supreme Court Denies Blanket Request for Documents on High Lead Levels in Children’s Blood

The Supreme Court of Ohio recently affirmed (Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. Of Health v. Lipson O’Shea Legal Group, 2016-Ohio-556) an Eighth Appellate District of Ohio decision (2013-Ohio-5736) denying a law firm’s public records request (see R.C. 149.43) to the Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBOH) for “documentation or information of all homes in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 in Cuyahoga County where a minor child was found to have elevated blood lead levels in excess of 10 mb/D1.”  Initially, the CCBOH had identified relevant information, but sought a declaratory judgment in the Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas with respect to “its status, duty, obligations and/or requirements to maintain the confidentiality of the records sought.”  The trial court granted summary judgment to the CCBOH, based upon R.C. 3701.17, which exempts protected health information from being released if the individual is identified or if that information could be used to reveal the individual’s identity.  The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals reversal, finding the “blanket exemption” inappropriate.  However, it found the public records request to be “the real problem in this case,” ruling the law firm should not have requested “documents related to homes ‘where a minor child was found to have elevated blood lead levels in excess of 10 [mg/d1].’”  The Ohio Supreme Court remanded to the trial court to review sample files and “if necessary, all the responsive information in the possession of the Cuyahoga County BOH to determine what information, if any, can be released after all protected health information is redacted.”