Wells H. Keddie and the Rutgers Council of Aaup Chapters, Plaintiffs-Respondents and Cross-Appellants v. Rutgers…

Summary

The Supreme Court held that the attorneys’ bills, the internally generated legal billing documents, and the legal submissions are not public records under the New Jersey Right‑to‑Know Law because they are not expressly required to be made, maintained, or kept on file. All of the requested materials are, however, public records under the common‑law definition, and Rutgers must provide the legal submissions for a reasonable fee. The Court reversed the Appellate Division’s Right‑to‑Know holdings and remanded for a common‑law balancing test on the attorneys’ bills and internal billing documents.