Greenhalgh v. Department of Corrections

248 P.3d 150
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedMarch 15, 2011
Docket40144-4-II
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 248 P.3d 150 (Greenhalgh v. Department of Corrections) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Greenhalgh v. Department of Corrections, 248 P.3d 150 (Wash. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

248 P.3d 150 (2011)

Shawn GREENHALGH, Appellant,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, A subdivision of the State of Washington, Respondent.

No. 40144-4-II.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 2.

March 15, 2011.

Michael Charles Kahrs, Kahrs Law Firm PS, Seattle, WA, for Appellant.

Daniel John Judge, Attorney General's Office, Olympia, WA, for Respondent.

WORSWICK, A.C.J.

¶ 1 Shawn Greenhalgh, an inmate at the Monroe Correctional Complex (MCC), requested documents under the Public Records Act (PRA), chapter 42.56 RCW, from the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) listing items available for purchase at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center (SCCC) inmate store. He then sued the DOC, alleging that it had failed to adequately comply with his request. He now appeals from a trial court order denying his summary judgment motion and granting the DOC's cross-motion for summary judgment. Holding that the DOC fully complied with Greenhalgh's request and the PRA, we affirm.

*151 FACTS

¶ 2 On November 10, 2006, Greenhalgh sent his first PRA request in this case to Jane McKenzie, a DOC Public Disclosure Coordinator (PDC) at the Monroe Correctional Complex, seeking "[t]he most current Inmate Store Price List for the Stafford Creek Corrections Center Inmate Main Store." Clerk's Papers (CP) at 38. On November 21, McKenzie sent a letter to Greenhalgh acknowledging his request as follows:

This is to acknowledge receipt of your request for public disclosure received in my office on November 14, 2006. You are requesting the following documents:
1. Inmate store price list for MICC, SCCC, AHCC & CBCC.
2. MICC educational & vocational programs.
These documents are not located at MCC, therefore I am forwarding your requests. In the future please send your requests directly to the facility where the documents are located.
I anticipate that it may take up to thirty business days to gather available documents. There will be a 20-cent per page fee, plus the cost of postage, for any documents to be disclosed. You will be advised of the amount of the fee that will need to be paid prior to the documents being copied for release.

CP at 39. On that same day, Sheri Izatt, the PDC for SCCC, sent Greenhalgh the following letter:

This letter is to acknowledge receipt of your Public Disclosure Request received by Stafford Creek Corrections Center on November 21, 2006. You are requesting the following documents:
1. Offender store price list for Stafford Creek Correctional [sic] Center.
There are 2 page(s) responsive to your request. There is a copy fee cost of $0.20 per page, plus postage of $0.39. Please submit payment to Stafford Creek Corrections Center in the amount of $0.79 for the request. Upon receipt of payment, the documents will be mailed to you.
If you choose not to pursue this public disclosure request within (30) thirty days, this request will be closed.

CP at 41. Greenhalgh responded on November 28, and provided payment for the record. On December 11, Izatt mailed the record entitled "Stafford Creek Store Order List" to Greenhalgh. CP at 43-46. Greenhalgh then sent a letter to Izatt following up on the receipt of the record as follows:

Thank you for your letter dated December 11, 2006, in response to my request for public records; however, I have reason to believe that additional records exist, responsive to my request.
My request for public records specifically request(ed) the SCCC Offender Store Price List. In response to my request, you produced two (2) documents—listing presumably all of the general store items; however, these documents do not list any electrical appliances, e.g., radios, televisions, lamps, etc. I hereby ask that you look into this and see if there is another list, listing additional items.

CP at 47.[1] The DOC did not respond to this letter. On March 21, 2007, Greenhalgh sent another letter which stated:

This is my second follow-up letter regarding the above-referenced records request. My December 18, 2006 letter explained that your response was incomplete because the two pages of the SCCC Store List that you provided do not list any appliances such as T.V.'s and radios. Please produce the records requested in accordance with RCW 42.56.520.

CP at 48. The DOC treated this letter as a new PRA request, and on April 2, Izatt sent a letter to Greenhalgh, which stated:

This letter is a follow-up response to your Public Disclosure Request received by Stafford Creek Corrections Center on March 23, 2006, requesting a copy of the offender store price list for Stafford Creek Correctional [sic] Center.
*152 Upon further research, we found 1(one) additional page responsive to your request. There is a copy fee cost of $0.20 per page, plus postage of $0.39. Please submit payment to Stafford Creek Corrections Center in the amount of $0.59 for the request. Upon receipt of payment, the documents will be mailed to you.

CP at 49. A few days later, Greenhalgh remitted payment and Izatt provided "[a] copy of the offender store price list for Stafford Creek Correctional Center." CP at 50-52. This record included a list of electronics, including razors, lamps, headphones, and fans.

¶ 3 Greenhalgh filed a complaint for violation of the PRA on April 23, 2008. And on June 27, based on information provided to him by another inmate who formerly resided at SCCC that an additional list with various wrist watches for sale existed, Greenhalgh sent a letter to Gaylene Schave, a Public Disclosure Specialist at the DOC outlining his characterization of the facts surrounding his requests. In conclusion, he stated, "For whatever reason, PDC Izatt did not produce the fourth page of the November 2006 SCCC Inmate Store Price List. Please produce the missing page listing approximately fifty (50) wrist watches that were offered to offenders housed at SCCC in November 2006, so that we can resolve this request." CP at 56. This was the first request for a list of wristwatches the DOC received from Greenhalgh.

¶ 4 On July 8, Schave sent a letter to Greenhalgh acknowledging receipt of his letter. The letter stated that an additional 40 business days would be needed to determine whether the SCCC store list from November 2006 still existed. Greenhalgh replied and objected to the timeline. Schave again responded and stated that the DOC was searching its electronic files and that "this takes an extensive effort." CP at 59.

¶ 5 On July 31, Schave sent another letter to Greenhalgh:

This letter is in follow up to your clarification dated June 27, 2008 and received on June 30, 2008, regarding your public disclosure request SCCC 605 [sic] for item # 12 in your letter. You state there is a listing of various wrist watches available through SCCC.
Your original request SCCC-605, asked for the current inmate store price list for SCCC Main store. This request was responded to on December 11, 2006, when Ms. Izatt sent you the 2 page [sic] SCCC Main Store price list.
In your letter dated June 27, 2008, received on June 23, 2008, you now ask for the price list for wrist watches available for purchase through SCCC.

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Bluebook (online)
248 P.3d 150, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/greenhalgh-v-department-of-corrections-washctapp-2011.