THE PETITIONER MAKING THE FOIL REQUEST IS A LAW FIRM; THE FACT THAT THE FIRM’S CLIENT ALSO HAD STANDING TO MAKE THE FOIL REQUEST DID NOT DEPRIVE THE LAW FIRM OF STANDING (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the Article 78 proceeding contesting the denial of petitioner’s FOIL request should not have been dismissed for lack of standing. Petitioner is a law firm seeking information on behalf of a client. The fact that the client could also make the FOIL request did not deprive the law firm of standing:
Supreme Court erred in concluding that the petitioner lacked standing to pursue this proceeding. The petitioner submitted the FOIL request to the Agency and its request was denied, both initially and on administrative appeal. Since the petitioner’s FOIL request was denied, it had standing to seek judicial review of the Agency’s determination … , regardless of whether it submitted the FOIL request, in whole or in part, on behalf of a client … . The petitioner’s standing was not extinguished by the fact that its client also would have had standing to commence a proceeding challenging the denial of the FOIL request … . Matter of Law Offs. of Cory H. Morris v Suffolk County, 2023 NY Slip Op 06046, Second Dept 11-22-23
Practice Point: Here a law firm made FOIL requests that were denied. The law firm then brought an Article 78 proceeding which was erroneously dismissed for lack of standing. The fact that the firm’s client had standing to bring the FOIL proceedings did not deprive the law firm of standing.