New Jersey OPRA Decision: Appellate Division Rules on Public Officials’ Email Logs

New Jersey OPRA Decision Expands Public Records Access

On January 27, 2025, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, issued a significant ruling in Alex Rosetti v. Ramapo-Indian Hills Regional High School Board of Education, ___ N.J. ___ (2025), clarifying the scope of the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 to – 13. The Supreme Court held, as an issue of first impression, that OPRA compels the disclosure of email logs of public officials’ personal computers discussing public business.

Facts and Procedural History of the New Jersey OPRA Decision

This case began when Alex Rosetti submitted an OPRA request to the Ramapo-Indian Hills Regional High School Board of Education (the Board) and its records custodian. Rosetti sought email logs from both Board-issued accounts and personal email accounts used for Board business. The Board provided logs from its own servers but denied access to email logs from personal accounts, arguing that such records were beyond OPRA’s scope and too burdensome to retrieve.

When the Board refused to provide the requested email logs, Rosetti filed a lawsuit in the Law Division. The trial court ruled in favor of the Board, holding that email logs from personal email accounts were not “government records” under OPRA and that retrieving them would be excessively burdensome. Rosetti appealed this decision.

Legal Issue: Are Email Logs on Private Servers Government Records Under OPRA?

The key legal question in this New Jersey OPRA decision was whether email logs stored on public officials’ personal email accounts, but related to government business, qualify as government records under OPRA. The Appellate Division reviewed OPRA’s language and prior case law, ultimately determining that email logs stored on private servers are government records under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, and are disclosable based on Ass’n for Government Responsibility, Ethics & Transparency v. Borough of Mantoloking, 478 N.J. Super. 470, 489 (App. Div. 2024), which held “OPRA’s broad reach can include emails concerning government business, sent to or from personal accounts of government officials — if the emails fall within the definition of government records.” The Appellate Division found that allowing officials to evade OPRA by using private email accounts would contradict the statute’s purpose of ensuring transparency.

Legal Issue: Undue Burden in Producing Email Logs Under OPRA

Another significant issue in this New Jersey OPRA decision was producing email logs from personal accounts was unreasonably burdensome. The Board argued that extracting email logs from private email servers would be difficult due to technical limitations. The Appellate Division found this argument unpersuasive, concluding that Rosetti’s OPRA request was not unduly burdensome.

Therefore, the Appellate Division ruled that the Board members must search their personal email accounts for responsive records. If they claim that the logs are unavailable or too difficult to retrieve, they must submit detailed certifications, in accord with Paff v. New Jersey Dep’t of Labor, 392 N.J. Super. 334, 341 (App. Div. 2007) (Paff I), explaining their efforts and the specific burdens involved. If necessary, the trial court may hold a fact-finding hearing to evaluate whether retrieval is genuinely infeasible.

The court also noted that OPRA allows public agencies to impose special service charges when fulfilling requests requires extraordinary effort. If retrieving the email logs is time-consuming, the Board may charge Rosetti for the costs associated with compliance.

Key Takeaways from the New Jersey OPRA Decision

This Appellate Division ruling reinforces OPRA’s broad scope and affirms that government officials cannot avoid public disclosure laws by using private email accounts for government business. The court made it clear that:

  • Emails discussing government business, even on personal accounts, may be subject to OPRA.
  • Public officials must conduct reasonable searches of their personal email accounts for responsive records.
  • If compliance is claimed to be burdensome, officials must provide detailed certifications explaining why.
  • Agencies may charge special service fees if retrieving the records requires substantial effort.

This New Jersey OPRA decision underscores the importance of government transparency and prevents public officials from circumventing public records laws by using private servers.

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