Univ of Tennessee - Hazen comms
| Tracking # |
UTS-50-2023 |
| Submitted | Feb. 26, 2023 |
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Communications
From: Jeremy Borden
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Tennessee Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
The time period for this request is January 1, 2009 to January 1, 2016. Please provide all communications from University of Tennessee professor Terry Hazen in the following categories of information related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and aftermath:
• All communications, including but not limited to email, that mention the word “dispersants” and
• All communications, including but not limited to email, to and from officials with the oil and gas company BP, whose emails typically end in @bp.com.
Please provide all records in a machine readable format, including, whenever possible, having performed Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on .pdf files. Word or .doc and/or .docx files are acceptable. If applicable, spreadsheets, whenever possible, should be provided in .csv or .xslx format.
I request all communications and responsive records regarding this request to be sent electronically to the email provided.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 7 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Kent Hoover, a citizen of Tennessee, in coordination with Jeremy Borden.
From:
Thank you for submitting a request for records.
Your request reference number is Request Number: UTS-50-2023.
Please have this reference number available when communicating with our staff regarding your request.
Note: This is an automated email notification. Please do not respond to this email.
From: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Kent, this is to acknowledge receipt of your request, UTS-50-2023, for records under the Tennessee Public Records Act.
We will update you on the status of the request no later than March 28, 2023.
Sincerely,
Charles Primm
Public Records Request Coordinator
UT System Administration
865-974-5180
From: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Mr. Hoover,
The request is not a proper request under the Tennessee Public Records Act. It is overly broad and not sufficiently detailed to enable the University to identify the specific records for inspection and copying, would require the University to sort through files and search through voluminous records seeking to locate the requested records, and constitutes an improper attempt to use the Public Records Act as if it were a discovery request made pursuant to litigation. Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(4); Jakes v. Sumner County Board of Education, No. M2014-02471-COA-R3-CV, 2017 WL 3219511 (Tenn. Ct. App. July 28, 2017); Allen v. Day, 213 S.W.3d 244, 250 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006); Hickman v. Tennessee Bd. of Probation and Parole, No. M2001-02346-COA-R3-CV, 2003 WL 724474 (March 4, 2003); Tennessee Open Records Counsel Advisory Opinion No. 21-01 at p. 2 (Jan. 29, 2021).
Additionally, the requested records are exempt from disclosure under the Tennessee Public Records Act. Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-7-120; Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-504(a)(9)(C) (exempting from disclosure information that is confidential under federal law); U.S. Const., Amend. I; American Tradition Inst. v. Rector and Visitors of the Univ. of Va., 287 330 (Va. 2014) (exempting from public records disclosure a professor’s research and scholarship); Highland Mining Co. v. West Virginia Sch. of Med., 235 W. Va. 370 (W. Va. Ct. App. 2015) (exempting from public records disclosure a professor’s research and scholarship); Dow Chem. Co. v. Allen, 672 F.2d 1262 (7th Cir. 1982) (compelling disclosure of faculty research can create a chilling effect that limits academic freedom); Keyishian v. Board of Regents of Univ. of State of New York, 385 U.S. 589 (1967) (explicating concept of academic freedom under the First Amendment); Sweezy v. New Hampshire, 354 U.S. 234 (1957) (same).
Your request, UTS-50-2023, is therefore respectfully denied.
Sincerely,
Charles Primm
Public Records Request Coordinator
UT System Administration
865-974-5180
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