Office of Information Practices

U Memo 19-9
March 27, 2019
Sufficiency of Search for Records

A law firm (Requester) made a request to the City and County of Honolulu Department of Facility Maintenance (MAINT-HON) for public records pertaining to any alleged or investigated law violations regarding a particular property.  MAINT‑HON’s attorney initially denied access.  MAINT-HON revised its position after this appeal was filed, conducted a search, and found four responsive documents.  Requester questioned whether all responsive documents were provided.  Based on the information provided by MAINT-HON, OIP found it does appear that appropriate staff conducted a reasonable search for responsive records in the locations where any responsive records were mostly likely to have been found.  OIP further found that MAINT-HON’s search for records was reasonable, and its ultimate response providing all four responsive documents was proper under the UIPA.