What are the remedies for a violation of the Open Records Act?
There are both civil and criminal penalties for violations of the Open Records Act. A requestor of a document may file an action in superior court to seek enforcement of the Act. A requestor may also recover his or her attorney's fees from the agency in the superior court action if the agency lacked a substantial justification for its failure to produce the records.
In addition, a requestor may file a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General and seek to have our office mediate the dispute with the agency. The Office of the Attorney General does not represent the requestor/complainant in this dispute, nor will we go to court on behalf of the requestor except in exceptional circumstances.
If a person knowingly and willfully violates the Act by failing or refusing to provide access to records not subject to exemption within the statutory time frame, the person may be found guilty of a misdemeanor and fined up to $100. Destruction of records to avoid their disclosure under the Act may be a felony and subject to substantial fine and imprisonment.
O.C.G.A. § 50-18-73, § 50-18-74, § 45-11-1.
Print this