Media Placement Servs., Inc. v. Wis. Dep't of Transp.

2018 WI App 34, 913 N.W.2d 224, 382 Wis. 2d 191
CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedApril 24, 2018
DocketAppeal No. 2017AP791
StatusPublished

This text of 2018 WI App 34 (Media Placement Servs., Inc. v. Wis. Dep't of Transp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Media Placement Servs., Inc. v. Wis. Dep't of Transp., 2018 WI App 34, 913 N.W.2d 224, 382 Wis. 2d 191 (Wis. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

KESSLER, J.

*195¶1 Media Placement Services (Media Placement) appeals the summary judgment order dismissing its mandamus action to access free motor vehicle accident reports from the Department of Transportation (DOT) using the DOT's web portal. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶2 The following facts are not in dispute. Media Placement is a Louisiana-based company with an interest in motor vehicle accident data (accident reports) from the City of Milwaukee. For several years, Media Placement representatives would visit the Milwaukee Police Department's Third *227District Police Station, request accident reports from particular dates, and inspect those reports free of charge. In June 2013, however, the Milwaukee Police Department suspended the practice of allowing Media Placement to view unredacted accident reports, citing privacy concerns pursuant to the Federal Drivers Policy and Protection Act. Media Placement continued to request accident reports from the Milwaukee Police Department, but was ultimately informed that the DOT became the custodian of accident reports and that subsequent requests must be made through the DOT.

¶3 In August 2014, counsel for Media Placement submitted a written request to the DOT for City of Milwaukee accident reports from certain dates. Through phone calls and emails, the DOT informed Media Placement of its access options. The DOT offers the following options to requesters seeking accident reports:

*196• Online requests, through the DOT's website, for individual accident reports. The website requires requesters to know either an accident number, a document number, or both a driver's license number and accident date. A $5.00 furnishing fee, plus a $1.00 convenience fee, is required for each report.
• Written, email, or phone requests for accident reports in which requesters can use more general search criteria, such as "all accident reports" from a particular date or location. The DOT generates the data, and for a fee, provides the data to the requester when the data is available.
• A weekly subscription service, in which the DOT contracts with high-volume requesters to provide bulk weekly data from accident reports. The DOT charges a $250.00 weekly fee for the subscription service.

¶4 Media Placement filed the mandamus action underlying this appeal. As related to this appeal, Media Placement argued that the DOT "failed and [is] still failing to provide [Media Placement] with access for the purpose of inspection without charge to Milwaukee Police Department accident reports," contrary to Wisconsin open records law.1 The mandamus action also argued that the DOT is "not authorized to charge a fee of $6.00 to inspect [Milwaukee Police Department] accident reports online." Media Placement asked the circuit court to "compel[ ] [the DOT] to permit ... [Media Placement] to inspect Wisconsin motor vehicle accident reports that originated in the City of Milwaukee upon request and without charge."

*197¶5 Both parties moved for summary judgment. Media Placement argued that the DOT unfairly limited the public's access to accident report data because requesters using the DOT website must know specific search criteria and that the DOT was not authorized to charge for access to accident reports.2 The DOT countered that it did not limit the public's access to either individual or bulk accident reports because it provides multiple methods of access, including a weekly subscription service for high-volume requesters such as Media Placement. The DOT also argued that pursuant to *228WIS. STAT. § 343.24(2m) (2015-16),3 it was authorized to charge a fee for online access to individual accident reports. The circuit court granted summary judgment in favor of the DOT and denied Media Placement's motion. This appeal follows.

DISCUSSION

¶6 On appeal, Media Placement's arguments focus primarily on its assertions that the DOT improperly limits access to individual accident reports by requiring an online requester to know specific information and that the DOT is not authorized to charge for those reports. A breakdown of Media Placement's arguments, however, shows that Media Placement is actually challenging its inability to access individual accident reports: (1) in bulk, (2) online, (3) for free, and (4) using general search information such as dates and locations. In short, Media Placement wants access to high volumes of individual accident reports using *198the DOT's online database and does not want to pay for the reports. In asserting its arguments, Media Placement extensively discusses Wisconsin's open records law and challenges the applicability of WIS. STAT. § 343.24(2m) -the statute authorizing the DOT to charge a fee for furnishing certain motor vehicle records. We conclude that Media Placement is not entitled to free access to the DOT's database because both Wisconsin open records law and statutory authority permit the DOT to charge access fees for certain records and because case law has held that the right to access records does not extend to the right to access databases. See WIREdata, Inc. v. Village of Sussex , 2008 WI 69, 310 Wis. 2d 397, 751 N.W.2d 736.

Standard of Review

¶7 " 'We independently review whether the circuit court correctly granted summary judgment' " to the DOT. See Journal Times v. Police & Fire Comm'rs Bd. , 2015 WI 56, ¶ 42, 362 Wis. 2d 577, 866 N.W.2d 563 (citation omitted). "Summary judgment shall be rendered if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Id. (citation and quotation marks omitted).

¶8 "A writ of mandamus may be used to compel public officers to perform duties arising out of their office and presently due to be performed." Pasko v. City of Milwaukee , 2002 WI 33, ¶ 24, 252 Wis.

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Related

Mared Industries, Inc. v. Mansfield
2005 WI 5 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2005)
State Ex Rel. Milwaukee Police Ass'n v. Jones
2000 WI App 146 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2000)
WIREdata, Inc. v. Village of Sussex
2008 WI 69 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2008)
Portage Daily Register v. Columbia County Sheriff's Department
2008 WI App 30 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2008)
State Ex Rel. Kalal v. Circuit Court for Dane County
2004 WI 58 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2004)
Pasko v. City of Milwaukee
2002 WI 33 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2002)
New Richmond News v. City of New Richmond
2016 WI App 43 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2018 WI App 34, 913 N.W.2d 224, 382 Wis. 2d 191, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/media-placement-servs-inc-v-wis-dept-of-transp-wisctapp-2018.