Baker County Press, Inc. v. BAKER COUNTY MEDICAL SERV., INC.

870 So. 2d 189, 32 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1939, 2004 Fla. App. LEXIS 2673, 2004 WL 393189
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMarch 4, 2004
Docket1D03-803
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 870 So. 2d 189 (Baker County Press, Inc. v. BAKER COUNTY MEDICAL SERV., INC.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baker County Press, Inc. v. BAKER COUNTY MEDICAL SERV., INC., 870 So. 2d 189, 32 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1939, 2004 Fla. App. LEXIS 2673, 2004 WL 393189 (Fla. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

870 So.2d 189 (2004)

BAKER COUNTY PRESS, INC., a Florida corporation, and James C. McGauley, Appellants,
v.
BAKER COUNTY MEDICAL SERVICES, INC., Appellee.

No. 1D03-803.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

March 4, 2004.

*191 Robert M. Dees, of Milam & Howard, P. A., Jacksonville, for Appellants.

Jonathan D. Kaney, Jr., of Cobb & Cole, Daytona Beach, for First Amendment Foundation, Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, Tallahassee Democrat, Inc., News-Journal Corporation and Morris Communications Corporation, d/b/a The Florida Times, Amici Curiae.

John D. Buchanan, Jr. and Laura Beth Faragasso, of Henry, Buchanan, Hudson, Suber & Carter, P. A., Tallahassee, for Appellee.

James J. Kennedy, III and Edward J. Carbone, of Buchanan Ingersoll, P.C., Tampa, for Florida Hospital Association and Florida Health Sciences Center, Inc., d/b/a Tampa General Hospital, Amici Curiae.

POLSTON, J.

Appellants The Baker County Press, Inc. and James C. McGauley challenge the trial court's final judgment in favor of appellee Baker County Medical Services, Inc., ruling that appellants are not entitled to requested documents and minutes of board meetings because Medical Services is not subject to the Public Records Act, chapter 119, Florida Statutes, or the Sunshine Law, chapter 286, Florida Statutes. Because we agree with Medical Services that section 395.3036, Florida Statutes (2002), provides exemptions for Medical Services from the Public Records Act and Sunshine Law, we affirm the trial court's final judgment.

I. Background

On September 4, 2002, The Baker County Press and James McGauley, the publisher of The Baker County Press and a citizen of the state of Florida, filed an action under chapter 119, the Public Records Act, section 286.011, the Sunshine Law, and article I, section 24 of the Florida Constitution, the Sunshine Amendment, against Medical Services. The Baker County Press and Mr. McGauley requested mandamus, injunctive, and declaratory relief, asking the trial court to rule that Medical Services must comply with the Sunshine Law, the Public Records Act, and the Sunshine Amendment in accordance with the Supreme Court of Florida's decision in Memorial Hospital-West Volusia, Inc. v. News-Journal Corp., 729 So.2d 373 (Fla.1999). The suit was based on a June 30, 2002 records request by The Baker County Press, signed by Mr. McGauley as its Publisher, for the board minutes of every meeting of Medical Services since it was formed and its financial records. Medical Services is a private company which operates the Ed Fraser Memorial Hospital, the Frank Wells Nursing Home, and the Baker Community Health Center *192 (collectively "the Hospital"). Medical Services operates the Hospital pursuant to a lease agreement with the Baker County Hospital Authority. The Authority is a public taxing district and owns the Hospital. The Authority was established by the Florida Legislature pursuant to chapter 28887, Laws of Florida (1953), which has since been amended, although not materially. In relevant part, the enabling legislation for this law: (1) provided for a board of commissioners to provide medical care to the public and to establish, construct, and maintain public hospitals for the public use and welfare, (2) declared the operation of such hospitals to be a public purpose, (3) gave the governing board the power to issue revenue bonds, (4) charged the Baker County Board of County Commissioners with providing the revenue for the erection, building, equipping, maintenance, and operation of the Authority's hospitals, and (5) gave the Baker County Board of County Commissioners the power to levy taxes for these purposes. See Ch. 74-422, §§ 2-5, at 33-34, Laws of Fla.; Ch. 28887, Laws of Fla. (1953). The Hospital originally opened in 1955.

The Authority leased the Hospital to Medical Services in 1993, when the Hospital was in serious financial distress. Appellant The Baker County Press requested the same type of information that it now seeks on October 28, 1993, which was litigated in Case No. 93-559-CA, in the Circuit Court of the Eighth Judicial Circuit, in and for Baker County, Florida. After a bench trial in that case, the trial court held in favor of Medical Services, ruling that it was not subject to the Public Records Act or the Sunshine Law. The February 9, 1994 final judgment was not appealed.

The lease between Medical Services and the Authority, as amended in 1998, provides in relevant part: (1) Medical Services has operational control of the hospitals, (2) Medical Services has possession of the Authority's existing facilities, authority to provide health care, and control over the working capital, (3) all improvements and additions to fixtures by Medical Services revert to the Authority at the termination of the lease, (4) rent includes Medical Services' assumption of the Authority's debt and interest payments for the bonds, (5) Medical Services is responsible for providing indigent care, (6) Medical Services is required to comply with the enabling legislation, (7) Medical Services is required to certify a budget to the Authority so that the Authority may certify the budget, for operating and maintaining the leased property, to the property appraiser, (8) Medical Services is required to allocate its revenues in priority to pay operating expenses, lease payments, and any other required contractual payments by the Authority, and (9) the Authority is to issue bonds to construct new facilities, purchase personal property, and pay for costs associated with operating the hospital.

The trial court ruled that it would not revisit its 1994 ruling in favor of Medical Services because the appellants did not present sufficient changes in circumstances, and entered final judgment denying the relief requested by The Baker County Press.[1] The trial court erred in applying its 1994 final judgment. The public records request was made on June *193 30, 2002, and the law then in effect is applicable. See News-Press Publ'g Co. v. Kaune, 511 So.2d 1023, 1026 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987) (stating that, generally, "the critical date in determining whether a document is subject to examination is the date the request for examination is made"). Therefore, the Florida Supreme Court's 1999 decision of Memorial Hospital applies. Because we agree with appellants that the instant case is indistinguishable from Memorial Hospital, Medical Services is generally subject to the Public Records Act and the Sunshine Law. However, as Medical Services argues in the alternative, the statutory exemptions must then be considered.

II. Section 395.3036 Exemption

Section 395.3036 exempts the records of a private corporation that leases a public hospital or other public health care facility from the Public Records Act and the Sunshine Law:

Confidentiality of records and meetings of corporations that lease public hospitals or other public health care facilities.—The records of a private corporation that leases a public hospital or other public health care facility are confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art I of the State Constitution, and the meetings of the governing board of a private corporation are exempt from s. 286.011 and s. 24(b), Art. I of the State Constitution when the public lessor complies with the public finance accountability provisions of s. 155.40(5) with respect to the transfer of any public funds to the private lessee and when the private lessee meets at least three of the five following criteria: ...

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Ago
Florida Attorney General Reports, 2011
Florida Hosp. Waterman, Inc. v. Buster
984 So. 2d 478 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
870 So. 2d 189, 32 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1939, 2004 Fla. App. LEXIS 2673, 2004 WL 393189, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baker-county-press-inc-v-baker-county-medical-serv-inc-fladistctapp-2004.