Statutory Interpretation

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WI Court of Appeals – District IV

Case Name: Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin, et al.

Case No.: 2016AP869

Officials: Lundsten, P.J., Sherman and Kloppenburg, JJ.

Focus: Statutory Interpretation

Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) appeals a judgment of the circuit court dismissing ALDF’s action for a writ of mandamus to compel the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin and Richard R. Lane, records custodian for the University of Wisconsin’s Research Animal Resource Center (collectively, the Board of Regents), to grant ALDF access to documents withheld following an open records request by ALDF, and a declaratory judgment. The documents at issue were created by employees of the University of Wisconsin’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (Animal Care and Use Committee) during a meeting of that committee. The court determined that the documents are not “record[s]” for purposes of Wisconsin’s public records law, WIS. STAT. §§ 19.31 through 19.39 (2015-16), because they are “notes … prepared for the originator’s personal use,” and granted summary judgment in favor of the Board of Regents. We conclude that the documents are not excepted from the definition of “record[s]” under WIS. STAT. § 19.32(2) and, therefore, reverse.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.