You are here: / / THE FOIL REQUIREMENT THAT THE REQUESTED DOCUMENTS BE “REASONABLY...

THE FOIL REQUIREMENT THAT THE REQUESTED DOCUMENTS BE “REASONABLY DESCRIBED” IS DISTINCT FROM THE ABILITY TO RETRIEVE THE DOCUMENTS WITH “REASONABLE EFFORT;” THE TWO STANDARDS SHOULD NOT BE CONFLATED; HERE THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S PROFESSED INABILTY TO RETRIEVE THE REQUESTED DOCUMENTS DOES NOT DETERMINE WHETHER THE REQUESTED DOCUMENTS WERE “REASONABLY DESCRIBED;” MATTER REMANDED (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, reversing the Appellate Division for a remand to the NYC Department of Education (DOE), clarified the FOIL requirements that the requested documents be “reasonably described” and that the documents can be retrieved with “reasonable effort.” Courts have been conflating the two distinct requirements:

Despite the distinct nature and purposes of the reasonable description and reasonable effort requirements, several Appellate Division decisions have adopted a single test that merges those requirements … . But … application of that test has led to inconsistent outcomes … .

Evaluating the reasonable description and reasonable effort requirements separately should alleviate the confusion that the combined test has produced. Whether a requestor has reasonably described an electronic record does not turn on the degree of effort necessary to retrieve it, and the inability of an agency to retrieve a document with reasonable effort does not implicate whether the description in the request was sufficient to allow the agency to locate it. * * *

While the DOE’s professed inability to retrieve the documents is not determinative of whether the request reasonably describes those documents, such inability may bear on whether the DOE has the ability to retrieve the documents with reasonable effort. We therefore conclude that the matter should be remanded to the DOE for a new determination under the proper standard. Matter of Wagner v New York City Dept. of Educ., 2025 NY Slip Op 05783, CtApp 10-21-25

Practice Point: In this FOIL case, the Court of Appeals clarified that whether the requested documents are “reasonably described” is not determined by whether the requested documents can be retrieved with “reasonable effort.” The two distinct standards have been improperly conflated in several Appellate Division decisions.

 

You might also like
Civil Commitment of Two Sex Offenders Reversed—In One Case the Proof the Offender Had “Serious Difficulty In Controlling” His Sexual Conduct Within the Meaning of Article 10 of the Mental Hygiene Law Was Legally Insufficient—In the Other Case, Proof the Offender Suffered from Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPC) Alone Did Not Meet the Definition of “Mental Abnormality” in Article 10 of the Mental Hygiene Law
NO REASONABLE VIEW OF THE EVIDENCE SUPPORTED ANYTHING LESS THAN SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY, REQUEST FOR A JURY CHARGE ON ASSAULT THIRD WAS PROPERLY DENIED (CT APP). ​
PLAINTIFF’S EXPERTS DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THEIR OPINIONS ON THE CAUSE OF PLAINTIFF’S IN UTERO INJURIES WERE ARRIVED AT USING A GENERALLY ACCEPTED METHODOLOGY; PLAINTIFF ALLEGED IN UTERO INJURY FROM GASOLINE FUMES IN CAR MANUFACTURED BY DEFENDANT BMW.
ELECTION LAW 3-222 WHICH PROHIBITS DISCLOSURE OF VOTED BALLOTS FOR TWO YEARS AFTER AN ELECTION APPLIES BOTH TO PAPER BALLOTS AND ELECTRONIC BALLOTS (CT APP).
Error in Grand Jury Presentation Did Not Raise a Question of Prejudice Sufficient to Justify Dismissal of the Indictment
LABORATORY WHICH TESTS URINE FOR THE PRESENCE OF DRUGS DID NOT OWE A DUTY TO A TESTEE TO FOLLOW REGULATIONS NOT RELATED TO THE SCIENTIFIC TESTING PROCEDURE; FRAUD CAUSE OF ACTION CANNOT BE BASED ON THE RELIANCE OF A THIRD-PARY, AS OPPOSED TO THE PLAINTIFF, UPON A MISREPRESENTATION.
APPRENTICES WHO WORK OUTSIDE THE THEIR APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING CANNOT BE PAID THE LOWER APPRENTICE RATES, HERE APPRENTICE GLAZIERS DOING IRONWORK WHEN INSTALLING STOREFRONTS MUST BE PAID AT THE HIGHER JOURNEY-LEVEL RATE (CT APP).
THE JUDGE DID NOT CONDUCT THE REQUIRED “SEARCHING INQUIRY” BEFORE ALLOWING DEFENDANT TO PROCEED PRO SE; NEW TRIAL ORDERED (CT APP).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

THE GUARANTY OF RENT DUE UNDER THE COMMERCIAL LEASE WAS A “GOOD GUY”... HERE THE OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION’S (OCA’S) BLANKET ASSERTION...