Comstock Resident’s Ass’n vs. Lyon Cty. Bd. of Comm’rs (Nev. Supreme Ct. – Mar. 29, 2018)
In this appeal, the Supreme Court of Nevada considered a district court’s denial of a petition for a writ of mandamus to compel disclosure of records where members of the Lyon County Board of Commissioners conducted county business on private cellphones and email accounts.
In 2013, the Lyon County Board of Commissioners received an application to alter the zoning within Lyon County to allow for industrial development. The Board received reports from the county’s planning staff and held public hearings, after which they voted to recommend denying the proposed zoning change. At a subsequent meeting of the county commissioners, the issue was reintroduced and the zoning change approved. The Comstock Residents Association (CRA), brought suit against the Board, challenging the approval of the zoning change.
As part of that suit, CRA made a public records request of Lyon County and its commissioners, seeking communications concerning the approval of the zoning change, regardless of whether they occurred on public or private devices. Lyon County provided phone records, emails, and other records that were created or maintained on county equipment and some public records created on private devices as well. However, Lyon County also notified CRA that it did not provide or pay for phones or email accounts to any commissioners. The county’s website listed the commissioners’ personal phone numbers and email addresses as their contact information. The county conceded that these private telephones and email addresses were used to conduct county business.
Continue reading “When are government employees’ private cellphone and email records public record?”