## Facts

- A private law firm submitted a written request under the Georgia Open Records Act to a hospital authority seeking records from 1995 forward concerning Medicare-related collection claims resulting in payments exceeding Medicare allowed amounts (excluding deductibles, coinsurance, and non-covered charges).
- The hospital authority responded that it was not required to prepare reports, summaries, or compilations not already in existence.
- The authority, through its general counsel, later refused the request, asserting that any responsive documents were exempt as medical records under OCGA § 50-18-72(a)(2).
- The authority also maintained that compliance would require auditing Medicare accounts and compiling information in a form not maintained in the ordinary course of business.
- The law firm petitioned for mandamus to compel inspection and copying; the trial court denied relief for failure to show the requested documents were clearly public records and for failure to establish a clear legal right.
- The law firm appealed to the Supreme Court of Georgia.

## Issues

1. Whether the requested materials were identifiable “public records” prepared and maintained by the authority in the regular course of business.
2. Whether the Georgia Open Records Act requires a public agency to audit accounts or create new reports, summaries, or compilations to respond to a request.
3. Whether mandamus was properly denied because the requester failed to show a clear legal right to access the requested records.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the denial of mandamus.
- The court held the Open Records Act is intended to provide access to existing records, not to require an agency to create a new compilation or conduct an audit to generate responsive material.
- Because the request effectively sought information that would require auditing and compiling data not maintained in that form, the requester failed to show a clear legal right to relief.
- Having resolved the case on the no-duty-to-create ground, the court did not need extended analysis of the medical-records exemption.

## Legal Principles

- The Georgia Open Records Act provides access to existing public records; it does not grant a right to obtain information in the abstract.
- A public agency is not required to prepare reports, summaries, or compilations not in existence at the time of the request. OCGA § 50-18-70(d).
- “Public records” are documents and materials prepared and maintained in the regular course of a public body’s operations.
- Mandamus issues only when the petitioner demonstrates a clear legal right to the performance of an official duty. OCGA § 9-6-20.
- A requester seeking mandamus under the Open Records Act must identify existing records to which access is legally required; a request that necessitates creation of a new compilation does not satisfy the mandamus standard.

## Conclusion

The court held that a records request that would require a public hospital authority to audit accounts and compile data into a new format exceeds the Georgia Open Records Act’s reach, and the requester therefore lacked the clear legal right necessary to obtain mandamus relief.


Schulten, Ward & Turner, L.L.P. v. Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority, 272 Ga. 725, 535 S.E.2d 243 (Ga. 2000)