Public Records Request - AdventHealth or Adventist Health System
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | July 5, 2023 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Bailey Pillon
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Florida Sunshine Law, s. 286.011, F.S., I hereby request the following records:
All court documents within the jurisdiction of the court wherein AdventHealth aka Adventist Health System aka Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corporation d/b/a AdventHealth (Healthcare Corporation) is listed as either plaintiff or defendant in a civil lawsuit from 2016 to 2023, on the day this request is processed.
I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.
In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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.
I would also appreciate an approximate time frame for this request to be processed. Depending of the time frame for the request to be fulfilled and any fees that may be incurred, I may revise the criteria.
If you deny any part of this request, please cite each specific exemption you think justifies your refusal to release the information and notify me of appeal procedures available under the law.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days.
Sincerely,
Bailey Pillon
From:
Thank you for contacting the Volusia County Clerk of Court’s office. We will respond within 1-2 business days.
If your inquiry requires immediate attention, please call our office at (386) 736-5915
Please note that our business hours are 8:00am to 4:00pm EST, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
Thank you for your patience,
LAURA E. ROTH, Clerk of the Circuit Court Seventh Circuit, Volusia County, Florida
Phone: 386-736-5915
Email: clerk@clerk.org
From: Volusia County Clerk Of Courts
Good afternoon Bailey
The records you are requesting can be found utilizing our website at www.clerk.org<http://www.clerk.org>. Click on “Search Records” then “Case Inquiry”. After you accept the Disclaimer you can specify the “Case Type” as “Circuit Civil”, input a filing date range and the name of the party in which you are searching. Be sure to click on “Business”. Also, you can only select a date range of 180 days at a time. Unless there is a Notice and/or an Order for Confidentiality filed within any of the cases, all should be public accessible.
There are approximately 80 cases filed under “Circuit Civil” as to AdventHealth. The timeframe to make copies of each case would exceed your requested 10 day deadline. If you wish to (still) have copies, there is a fee of $1.00 per page. You can submit an Affidavit of Indigency (found at www.clerk.org<http://www.clerk.org>; Forms; Circuit Civil) to determine if qualify to have the fees waived. Only State of Florida agencies and/or entities are exempt to paying fees (per FS 28.345) without the Affidavit of Indigency.
If you need further assistance, please feel free to contact us. Thank you and have a nice day. ☺
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Tammy R Marder, Deputy Clerk III
LAURA E. ROTH, Clerk of the Circuit Court
Seventh Circuit, Volusia County, Florida
Phone: (386)736-5915 ext 18415
We Set the Standard for Public Service,
because We Love Helping People.
[cid:image002.jpg@01D3169F.07A71D40]<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/H7X2W5K>
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From: Bailey Pillon
I contacted the Florida Supreme Court and the said in part: “ The documents, for the most part, are not available online, but may be requested.
For court records in the Seventh Judicial Circuit and Volusia County, the Clerk of Court<https://www.clerk.org/> is the custodian of records.”
This was in response to my questioning of it being public record yet it technically isn’t when having to pay 10 cents per page. It doesn’t sound like much but both financially, since I seek a number of court documents, and in principle that it should be available free of charge
From: Bailey Pillon
The interpretation of “it may be requested” in whether that means no payment or form for me to fill out. In terms of filing a Public Records Request under Florida’s Sunshine Law means that I am in turn requesting that a government entity, which you say is exempt from paying fees, request these documents and then produce it upon my request.
Due to the number of court documents I am seeking $1 per page, far worse than what I thought it was at 10 cents per page, is metaphorical robbery.
The F.S. You cite conflicts with Florida’s Sunshine Law and I am seeking the Florida’s Attorney General for advice on this matter. She also has the most comprehensive knowledge base as far as Florida’s Sunshine Law goes.
Sincerely,
Bailey Pillon
From: Bailey Pillon
28.345 State access to records; exemption from court-related fees and charges.—
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the clerk of the circuit court shall, upon request, provide access to public records without charge to the state attorney, public defender, guardian ad litem, public guardian, attorney ad litem, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and private court-appointed counsel paid by the state, and to authorized staff acting on their behalf. The clerk of court may provide the requested public record in an electronic format in lieu of a paper format if the requesting entity is capable of accessing such public record electronically.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or law to the contrary, judges and those court staff acting on behalf of judges, state attorneys, guardians ad litem, public guardians, attorneys ad litem, court-appointed private counsel, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, public defenders, and state agencies, while acting in their official capacity, are exempt from all court-related fees and charges assessed by the clerks of the circuit courts.
(3) The exemptions from fees or charges provided in this section apply only to entities listed in subsections (1) and (2), state agencies and state entities, and the party represented by the agency or entity.
History.—s. 35, ch. 2003-402; s. 22, ch. 2004-265; s. 10, ch. 2005-236; s. 15, ch. 2007-62; s. 5, ch. 2013-109; s. 1, ch. 2020-73
If the above I stated turns out to be not true, then in turn, if I could request a State Attorney or State Agency to contact the Clerk of Court for these court documents.
Sincerely,
Bailey Pillon
From: Bailey Pillon
Lastly, please provide me with the appeals procedure while I seek legal advice and research this matter.
Sincerely,
Bailey Pillon
From: Volusia County Clerk Of Courts
Good afternoon Mr Bailey,
Please allow us to review your email requests. Our office will contact you early next week. Thank you for your patience and have a nice weekend. ☺
[cid:image011.png@01D8C6A8.92811C90]
Tammy R Marder, Deputy Clerk III
LAURA E. ROTH, Clerk of the Circuit Court
Seventh Circuit, Volusia County, Florida
Phone: (386)736-5915 ext 18415
We Set the Standard for Public Service,
because We Love Helping People.
[cid:image002.jpg@01D3169F.07A71D40]<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/H7X2W5K>
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From: Volusia County Clerk Of Courts
Good afternoon Mr Bailey,
Thank you for your patience. Please see the below response from our legal department. As a convenience, attached is lists as to the page count associated with your request.
[cid:image011.png@01D8C6A8.92811C90]
Tammy R Marder, Deputy Clerk III
LAURA E. ROTH, Clerk of the Circuit Court
Seventh Circuit, Volusia County, Florida
Phone: (386)736-5915 ext 18415
We Set the Standard for Public Service,
because We Love Helping People.
[cid:image002.jpg@01D3169F.07A71D40]<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/H7X2W5K>
Have I helped you today? Please take the Survey!
Thank you for your public record request wherein you are requesting under s. 286.011, F.S. "[a]ll court documents within the jurisdiction of the court wherein AdventHealth aka Adventist Health system aka Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corporation d/b/a AdventHealth (Healthcare Corporation) is listed as either Plaintiff or defendant in a civil lawsuit from 2016 to 203, on the day this request is processed." You also ask that the fees for this request be waived and that you prefer that this request be filled out electronically. In a follow-up email sent to the Clerk's office, you further state that you contacted the Florida Supreme Court and were informed that these records were unavailable online and that such records could be requested from our office. You were also provided a response from the Clerk's office addressing your initial request.
The records you request are considered court records and are governed by the Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration, Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes, and Section 28.24, Florida Statutes.
Per our initial response, you can visit our website to get most, if not all, of these records online. Doing it online will save you time and cost. If you prefer that we perform the search, there are costs associated with this request. Section 119.07(4)(d) authorizes the imposition of a special service charge when the nature or volume of public records to be inspected is such as to require extensive use of information resources, extensive use of information technology, extensive clerical or supervisory assistance, or both. An initial search for AdventHealth and related records reveals this is a high-volume request, and clerk staff would have to review this request to protect confidential and exempt information under Rule 2.420 of the Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration. Additionally, section 28.24(6)(a), Florida Statutes, allows the custodian of records to charge $1.00 for the making of copies regardless of whether it is paper copies or copies being made to transmit electronically.
We cannot comment on what the Florida Supreme Court has informed you about our records since we, at the local level, control what we can and cannot post online for public viewing.
To this end, we urge you to visit our website, as provided in one of our last emails, to save you time and expense. If you prefer we perform this search, please let us know, and we will provide you with a time estimate and the costs associated (clerical, I.T., and cost of copies) with this request.
Thank you,
Legal Department.
From: Bailey Pillon
To Whom It May Concern:
I understand, and I do appreciate your time, effort, and cooperation in this request. I also appreciate the images you provided and going the extra effort to do so.
Sincerely,
Bailey Pillon