ACBJ appeals open records ruling in Kentucky

American City Business Journals, which operates 45 business journals across the country, is appealing a legal decision involving an open records case in federal court in Kentucky.

Laurel Deppen of Louisville Business First writes, “The case initially began when Zillow Inc., a Seattle-based technology real estate marketplace, argued that it shouldn’t be charged a commercial fee for records from the Property Value Administrator offices in Kentucky because other entities, specifically news organizations, collect and publish the same data and are charged a minimum cost.

“LBF in the past has used such information in building our most expensive real estate transactions lists for a given year, which is an editorial product.

“Zillow, as a commercial enterprise, asked the court to strike down a provision of the Open Records Act that allowed PVAs to charge it commercial fees. Attorneys for Zillow argued that it was unconstitutional to discriminate between Zillow and a business journal, for example.

“The judge in the case, Gregory Van Tatenhove, ruled that each entity should pay the commercial fees, said Michael Abate, of Louisville-based Kaplan Johnson Abate & Bird. Abate is representing ACBJ and KPA in the case. KPA intervened after the court’s initial ruling and disagrees with the court’s decision.”

Read more here.