TJS of New York, Inc. v. New York State Dep’t of Taxation and Fin., 932 N.Y.S.2d 243 (N.Y. App. Div. Nov. 3, 2011)
In this case, the court determined that the software program necessary to view certain files produced to the petitioner subject to New York’s Freedom of Information Law was a “record” for purposes of the law and was thus subject to production itself.
Pursuant to New York’s Freedom of Information Law, Petitioner requested and received records in connection with a sales tax audit performed by the Department of Taxation and Finance. However, certain data could not be viewed without a copy of the Department’s Audit Framework Extension software, which the Department refused to provide. Accordingly, Petitioner moved to compel production. The motion was denied, as was Petitioner’s motion for reconsideration. Petitioner appealed.
Taking up the question, the court provided the broad definition of a “record” under the law, namely “any information kept, held, filed, produced, or reproduced by, with or for an agency …, in any physical form whatsoever ….” The Department argued that the software was not a record because it contained no information. Petitioner disagreed.
