Avion Water Company v. Source Weekly
Case Number: 22CV18513
Court: Circuit Court, Deschutes County, Oregon
Client: Source Weekly
Answer to Complaint Filed: Aug. 5, 2022
Background: While reporting a story for Source Weekly, a newspaper in Bend, Oregon, independent journalist Hanna Merzbach filed a request with Avion Water Company under Oregon’s Public Records Law seeking information about the top residential water users in the two counties served by the company. Merzbach’s request, submitted in May 2022, specifically sought the addresses for the top 15 water users in 2021, as well as how many gallons they consumed and how much they paid for it.
Avion denied Merzbach’s request, claiming that the company is not subject to the public records law because it does not meet the definition of a public body. Source Weekly appealed Avion’s decision to withhold the records, arguing that the water company is the functional equivalent of a public body and thus subject to the public records law.
The Deschutes County district attorney sided with the newspaper and ordered Avion to turn over all of the requested records. Instead of disclosing the records, however, Avion sued Source Weekly, asking the court to declare that it is not a public body — nor is it the functional equivalent of one — and that the requested records are exempt from disclosure as a result.
Reporters Committee attorneys began representing Source Weekly in June 2022.
Quote: Letting Avion shield its water-use records from the public “would allow [the company] to act as the functional equivalent of a government without the transparency mandated by OPRL, would be contrary to Oregon’s Water Rights Act, and would prevent Oregonians from understanding their state’s water usage during the worst drought in 1,200 years,” Source Weekly argued in an answer to Avion’s complaint.
Update: On Aug. 22, 2023, the circuit court granted Avion’s motion for summary judgment, holding that the water company “is neither a ‘public body’ nor the functional equivalent of a public body under Oregon’s Public Records Law.”
Filings:
2022-05-26: Administrative order
2022-06-07: Complaint
2022-08-05: Answer to complaint
2023-07-05: Avion’s motion for summary judgment
2023-07-05: Declaration of Jason Wick in support of Avion’s motion for summary judgment
2023-07-05: Declaration of Erica Tatoian in support of Avion’s motion for summary judgment
2023-07-26: Source Weekly’s opposition to plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment
2023-07-26: Declaration of Steven Wilker in support of Source Weekly’s opposition to plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment (Part 1; Part 2)
2023-08-07: Avion’s reply in support of motion for summary judgment
2023-08-22: General judgment
2023-08-22: Order granting motion for summary judgment