When is a "Notice of Claim" not a Part of a "Claims File"?

Why, when the Attorney General doesn't want to have to say that the notice of claim is exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Law.

In AGO 2007-47, the Attorney General considered a seemingly simple question: Is the notice of claim required under Fla. Sta. §768.28 as a condition precedent to a tort suit against an agency exempt from disclosure under Fla. Stat. §768.16, which exempts "claims files" from the Public Records Law?

Anybody who sues or defends agencies in Florida is familiar with the notice of claim required under the waiver of sovereign immunity statute. Presumably, such a notice of claim upon receipt by an agency prompts the creation of a file related to the claim . . . commonly referred to as a "claims file." The first logical piece of paper that goes into the claims file is, of course, the notice of claim.

For some reason, the Attorney General struggled with the notion that "claims file" must necessarily include the things in the claims file . . . like the notice of claim. You really have to read this one for yourself.

Property Owners Association Exercising Delegated Authority

In AGO 2007-44, the Attorney General explained that a property owners association was subject to operation under the Sunshine Law when it was performing duties delegated to it by a Municipal Services Taxing Unit.