Harry Scheeler v Office of the Attorney General

Custodian Statement of InformationHarry B. Scheeler, Jr. v. State of NJ, Office of the Attorney General

GRC Complaint No. 2014-207Statement of Information

PART 1: CONTACT INFORMATION

1. GRC Complaint Number: 2014-207

2. Name of Complainant: Harry B. Scheeler, Jr.

3. Name of Custodian: Gregory A. Spellmeyer, AAGJob Title of Custodian: Acting Custodian of Records, Department of Law and

Public Safety

4. Custodian's Public Agency: Office of the Attorney General, Department ofLaw and Public Safety

Address: Office of the Attorney GeneralP.O. Box 081Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0081

Phone: (609) 984-6998Fax: (609) 984-5949E-mail: [email protected]

[email protected]

5. Name of Custodian's Legal Counsel:Gregory A. Spellmeyer, AAG

Address: Office of the Attorney GeneralP.O. Box 081Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0081

Phone: (609) 984-6998Fax: (609) 984-5949E-mail: [email protected]

[email protected]


GRC Complaint No. 2014-207Statement of Information Page 2

PART 2: ABOUT THE DENIAL OF ACCESS COMPLAINT

6. Attach a copy of the OPRA records request upon which this Complaint isbased.Please mark this attachment "Item 6."

See attached electronic OPRA request marked Item 6.

7. Indicate the date on which the Custodian received the OPRA records requestupon which this complaint is based.

May 9, 2014

8. Indicate the date on which the Custodian responded to the OPRA recordsrequest upon which this complaint is based. Provide all written documentationsupporting the Custodian's response. If you use additional pages to respond,please mark each page "Item 8."

On May 21, 2014, Deputy Attorney General Bruce Solomon, the Department ofLaw and Public Safety Custodian of Records sent Mr. Scheeler an emailregarding his OPRA request. The email stated in part: "[A]s you are aware, I ama named defendant in litigation which was recently filed in the Superior Court ofNew Jersey on your behalf, Scheeler v. Office of the Governor, et al. In order toavoid any real or perceived conflicts of interest, I cannot file a response to yourORPA request, W86481. The Office of the Attorney General has had to identifyand assign an Acting Custodian of Records for this request. As a result, OAGrequests an extension of time through Tuesday, May 27, 2014 to respond to yourOPRA request." See attached email marked Item 8. Monday, May 26, 2014was Memorial Day, a State holiday. On May 21, 2014, Mr. Scheeler denied therequest for an extension. See attached email marked Item 8. On May 23,2014, the Acting Custodian of Records responded to the OPRA request withinformation and a redacted record. See attached Receipt marked Item 8.



9. In keeping with the GRC's statutory mandate to investigate alleged denial ofaccess complaints pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1 A-7.e. and the court's instruction thatall Custodians responding to denial of access complaints provide a documentindex containing certain information to the GRC pursuant to its decision in JohnPaff v. NJ Department of Labor, 392 N.J. Super. 334 (App.Div. 2007), theCustodian must provide the document index table below. The document indextable is required in the table format presented below. Please mark the table"Item 9."

See Item 9 -Table on accompanying page

AList of allrecordsresponsive to

BList theRecordsRetention

CList of allrecordsprovided

DIf records

EIf recordswere denied

FList the legal

weredisclosed

explanationand statutoryin their

entirety, . iq veComplainant's Requireme toComplain

withredactio

citation for theOPRA Request nt and

Dispositiona generaldescription of

denial ofaccess torecords in their

(include thenumber ofpages foreach record)

ant, in their ns, give aSchedule entirety or general the recordfor eachrecordresponsive

withredactions

naturedescripti

entirety or withredactions

includethe datesuchrecordswere

rovided

on of theto theComplain

redactions

ant'sOPRArequest

Resume of Six years A redacted The No records The resume ofChristopher offer resume of redactio Were denied ChristopherHuber (2 terminatio Christopher ns were in their Huber waspages). n of Huber was consisten entirety. redacted

employme provided on t with Andrew J. consistent withThere were no nt. May 23, N.J.S.A. Mcnally is not N.J.S.A.records in the Disposition 2014 (ri~o 47:1A-10 employed by 47:1A-10Office of the is pages). Which the which makesAttorney destruction makes Department of only certainGeneral only Law and specificresponsive to certain public Safety. informationthe request for specific His resume is from personnelthe resume of informati not made, and pensionon file for DAG on from maintained, recordsAndrew J. personne kept on file or availableMcnally, and I and received in under OPRA.DAG Bruce J. pension the ordinary See KovaicikSolomon. records course of v. Somersetavailable business by County

under OAG. A Prosecutor'sOPRA. search did not Office, 206 N.J.

identify the 581 (2011).resume ofBruce J.Solomon.

Item 9 -Table



10. Specifically describe the search undertaken to satisfy the. records requestupon which this complaint is based.

To search for responsive records and information, the Department of Law andPublic Safety, Office of the Attorney General, Human Resource Management wascontacted. Human Resources determined that Andrew J. Mcnally is not anemployee of the Department of Law and Public Safety. On May 23, 2014, Mr.Scheeler was informed that the OAG does not have any records responsive tothe request for the resume of Andrew J. Mcnally. Human ResourceManagement identified the personnel and pension files of Mr. Huber and Mr.Solomon. Human Resources identified the resume of Christopher Huber. OnMay 23, 2014, Mr. Huber's resume was provided to Mr. Scheeler with redactionsconsistent with N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10 which makes only certain specific informationfrom personnel and pension records available under OPRA. As a result of thesearch performed, Human Resources did not identify a resume within thepersonnel file of Bruce J. Solomon. On May 23, 2014, Mr. Scheeler was informedthat the OAG does not have any records responsive to the request for the resumeof Bruce J. Solomon. Human Resources identified the requested the salary anddate of hire of Mr. Huber and of Mr. Solomon. On May 23, 2014, this informationwas provided to Mr. Scheeler. Because Mr. Mcnally is not an employee of theDepartment of Law and Public Safety, as a result of its search, Human Resourceswas unable to identify his salary or his date of hire within its records.

As a result of the search performed, I certify that on the date of my response,May 23, 2014, there were no records accessible in response to the request for theresume of Andrew J. Mcnally. As a result of the search performed, I certify thatthe records sought are neither made, maintained, kept on file nor received in theordinary course of business by the Office of the Attorney General. As a result ofthe search performed, I certify that on the date of my response, May 23, 2014, therecord responsive to the request for the resume of Christopher Huber wasprovided. As a result of the search performed, I certify that as of the date of myresponse, May 23, 2014, no record responsive to Mr. Scheeler's request for theresume of Bruce J. Solomon existed in the Office of the Attorney General.

1 1. Specifically state the last date on which documents that may have beenresponsive to the request were destroyed in accordance with the RecordsDestruction Schedule established and approved by New Jersey Department ofState, Division of Archives and Records Management.Not applicable. No records responsive to this request have been identified ashaving been destroyed.



12. Provide all facts and legal arguments in support of the Custodian's actionswith regard to the handling of the OPRA records request upon which thiscomplaint is based on an attached written statement marked "Item 12."

The complaint is not based any aspect of the response aside from it beingprovided on the 9t" day following the request. Mr. Scheeler's OPRA request wasreceived on May 9, 2014. On May 21, 2014, Deputy Attorney General BruceSolomon, the Department of Law and Public Safety Custodian of Records sent Mr.Scheeler an email regarding his OPRA request. The email stated in part: "[A]syou are aware, i am a named defendant in litigation which was recently filed inthe Superior Court of New Jersey on your behalf, Scheeler v. Office of theGovernor, et al. In order to avoid any real or perceived conflicts of interest,cannot file a response to your ORPA request, W86481. The Office of the AttorneyGeneral has had to identify and assign an Acting Custodian of Records for thisrequest. As a result, OAG requests an extension of time through Tuesday, May27, 2014 to respond to your OPRA request." See attached email marked Item 8.Monday, May 26, 2014 was Memorial Day, a State holiday. On May 21, 2014,Mr. Scheeler denied the request for an extension. See attached email markedItem 8. On May 23, 2014, the Acting Custodian of Records responded to theOPRA request with information and a redacted record. See attached Receiptmarked Item 8. No record was withheld in its entirety. The redactions weremade consistent with N.J.S.A. 47:1 A-10 which makes only certain specificinformation from personnel and pension records available under OPRA. SeeKovalcik v. Somerset County Prosecutor's Office, 206 N.J. 581, 592-93 (2011). Thedelay in the response was prompted by the need to identify aback-up custodianto respond to this request. The Acting Custodian completed and issued theresponse on May 23, 2014. The reason for the delay was not contrived, thedelay was not wilful, and was not intended to unreasonably deny access.

Custodian Statement of InformationHarry B. Scheeler, Jr. v. State of NJ, Office of the Attorney General GRC

Complaint No. 2014-207Statement of Information Page 7

If fhe Custodian fails to complete this form completely and accurately(responding to each numbered item specifically as directed and providing adocument index in table format), this form will be returned to the Custodian forproper completion thus prolonging the adjudication of the complaint.

By signing this Statement of Information, I certify that:

am the Acting Custodian charged by the public agency with the responsibilityfor responding to the request for records on which this complaint is based; or

am the alleged Custodian of an organization I do not believe to be a public

agency obliged under the provisions of OPRA;

The documents attached hereto are true copies of all documents sent orreceived by the Custodian or the Custodian's staff (records the custodian claimsare privileged or not accessible to the public under OPRA are not included);

A copy of this Statement of Information will be provided to the Complainant

simultaneously with it being provided to the GRC; and

The foregoing statements made by me are true. I am aware that if any of the

foregoing statements made by me are willfully false, I am subject to punishment

pursuant to the New Jersey Court Rule 1:4-4.

Signature: /q - ~/~~-

Printed Name: Gregory A. SpellmeyerJob Title: Acting Custodian of Records, Department of Law and Public

Safety/Deputy Attorney General

Date: June 6, 2014

(6/6/2014) OAG Records -Government Records Request W86481 Page 1

From: To: Date: 5/9/2014 12:26 PMSubject: Government Records Request W86481

Below is the information submitted by the OPRA requestor for Govt. Records Request # W86481.Please use the OPRA Tracking System to process Govt. Records Request # W86481.

State Agency: Law and Public Safety, Office of the Attorney General

Requestor Name: Harry ScheelerCompany: www.harryscheeler.comAddress: 201 Webster St

Woodbine NJ 08270Email: harryrescue911 @gmail.comTelephone: 609 427 6099

Convicted of indictable offense: NO

Preferred Delivery: E-MailMaximum Authorized Cost: $1.00Payment Method: CashRequested Information: Pursuant to executive order 26 resume of on file for DAG Andrew J. Mcnally,DAG Bruce J. Solomon, DAG Christopher Huber. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10a Salary and date of hirefor DAG Andrew J. Mcnally, DAG Bruce J. Solomon, DAG Christopher Huber.

~``r ~ ~~~'.i/22l2014 (xr ;i - Seei6ng E~ension of Time to Respond to Your OPRA Req~est - WSG481

Seeking Extension of Time to Respond to Your OPRA Request - W86481

OAG Records Wed, May 21, 2014 at 5:50 PMTo: [email protected]: Gregory Spellmeyer

Dear Mr. Scheeler:

serve as the Custodian of Records for the Office of the Attorney General (OAG)and as the Custodian of Records for the Department of Law and Public Safety.You filed an OPRA request with OAG, W86481, in which you seek access to, alongwith other records and information, my resume, my salary and my date of hire.Additionally, as you are aware, i am a named defendant in litigation which wasrecently filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey on your behalf, Scheeler v. Officeof the Governor, et al. I n order to avoid any real or perceived conflicts of interest,cannot file a response to your OPRA request, W86481. The Office of the AttorneyGeneral has had to identify and assign an acting Custodian of Records for thisrequest. As a result, OAG requests an extension of time through Tuesday, May 27,2014 to respond to your OPRA request.

Thank you for your cooperation and courtesy.

Sincerely,Bruce Solomon

Bruce J. SolomonDeputy Attorney GeneralL&PS Custodian of RecordsState of New JerseyDepartment of Law and Public SafetyOffice of the Attorney GeneralP.O. Box 081Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0081Phone: (609J 984-61 12Fax: (609) 984-9493OAG.Records~~~lps.state.nj.us

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE The information contained in this communication from the Office of the New Jersey

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5/22/?_014 T,~il - Seelang E~ension of Time to Respond to Your OPRA Request - W86481

Attorney General is privileged and confidential and is intended for the sole use of the persons or entities who arethe addressees. If you are not an intended recipient of this e-mail, the dissemination, distribution, copying or useof the information it contains is strictly prohibited. If you ham recei~d this communication in error, pleaseimmediately contact the Office of the Attorney General at (609) 292-4925 to arrange for the return of thisinformation.

https://mai I.g oog Ie.corrJmail/u10/?ui=2&ik-- e23998bec3&uev,F pt&search=i nbox&msg =14620c3d33d06110&surd=14620c3d33d06110 2l2

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5/22/2014 mil - Seelang E~ensiwi of Time to Respond to Your OPRA R U t - W86481

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Seeking Extension of Time to Respond to Your OPRA Request - W$6481

Harry B. Scheeler, Jr. Wed, May 21, 2014 at 6:57 PMTo: OAG Records Cc: Gregory Spellmeyer , Bruce Rosen

5/22/2014 ~~~~il - Seelang E~ension of Time to Respond to Your OPRA Req nest - W86481w, _

for this request. As a result, OAG requests an extension of time through Tuesday,May 27, 2014 to respond to your OPRA request.

Thank you for your cooperation and courtesy.

Sincerely,Bruce Solomon

Bruce J. SolomonDeputy Attorney GeneralL&PS Custodian of RecordsState of New JerseyDepartment of Law and Public SafetyOffice of the Attorney GeneralP.O. Box 081Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0081Phone: (609) 984-61 12Fax: (609) [email protected]

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE The information contained in this communication from the Office of the NewJersey Attorney General is privileged and confidential and is intended for the sole use of the persons or entitieswho are the addressees. If you are not an intended recipient of this e-mail, the dissemination, distribution,copying or use of the information it contains is strictly prohibited. If you ham received this communication inerror, please immediately contact the Office of the Attorney General at (609) 292-4925 to arrange for the returnof this information.

OPRA Confirmation PageDAG.pdf135K

https://mai I.g oog Ie.corrVmai UWO/?ui=28ik=e23998bec3&~ie~ pt&search=inbo~msg =1462100b7eda6ef5&dsq t=1 &sim1=1462100b7eda6ef5 212

May 23, 2014 04:34 PM State of New Jersey Page: 1 of 2

Government Records Request

Receipt

Requestor Information

-tarry ScheelerNww.harryscheeler.comZ01 Webster StNoodbine, NJ 08270

rescue911 @gmail.comX27-6099

bequest Date: May 9, 2014

Maximum Authorized Cost:

=mail

Status of Your Request

Your request for government records (# W86481) from theOffice of the Attorney General has been reviewed and hasbeen Partial Closed. Detailed information as to the availabilityof the documents you requested appear below and onfollowing pages as necessary.

The cost and any balance due for this request is shown to theright. Any balance due must be paid in full prior to the release/ mailing of the documents.

If you have any questions related to the disposition of thisrequest please contact the Custodian of Records for the Officeof the Attorney General. The contact information is in thecolumn to the right. Please reference your request number inany contact or correspondence.

Document Detail

Request Number: W86481Request Status: Partial ClosedReady Date: May 23, 2014

Custodian Contact InformationOffice of the Attorney General

Records Custodian

PO Box 08125 Market Street - 3rd Floor West

Trenton, NJ [email protected]

609-984-6112

Cost Information

Total Cost:

',Deposit:

Total Amount Paid:

Balance Due:

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$o.oa

Div Doc # Doc Name Redaction Legal Electronic OtherReq Pages Size Media Cost

OAG 0001 ,Resume, date of hire and salary of Andrew N N NJ. McnallyDenial: 01.Not Made, Maintained, Filed or Received by Division ---

OAG 0002 Resume of Bruce J. Solomon ``N N N

Denial: 01.Not Made, Maintained, Filed or Received by Division ---

OAG 0003 Resume of Christopher Huber Y 2 N Y

redacted consistent with N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10 which makes only certain specific information frompersonnel and pension records available under OPRA. See Kovalcik v. Somerset CountyProsecutor's Office

~~

May 23, 2014 04:34 PM State of New Jersey Page: 2 of 2

Government Records Request

Receipt

OAG .0004 ;Salary and date of hire of Bruce J. Solomon N N Nand Christopher Huber'information provided within response

__

You filed an OPRA request with the Department of Law and Public Safety (L&PS), Office of the AttorneyGeneral (OAG) seeking access to: "resume of on file for DAG Andrew J. Mcnally, DAG Bruce J. Solomon, DAGChristopher Huber. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10a Salary and date of hire for DAG Andrew J. Mcnally, DAGBruce J. Solomon, DAG Christopher Huber."

Andrew J. Mcnally is not an employee of the Department of Law and Public Safety. OAG does not have anyrecords responsive to your request concerning Andrew J. Mcnally. OAG does not have records responsive toyour request for the resume of Bruce J. Solomon. A copy of the resume of Christopher Huber is beingprovided. It has been redacted consistent with N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10 which makes only certain specific informationfrom personnel and pension records available under the Open Public Records Act. See Kovalcik v. SomersetCounty Prosecutor's Office, 206 N.J. 581 (2011). The salary of Bruce J. Solomon is $97,030.75 and the date ofhis hire is June 21, 1993. The salary of Christopher Huber is $75.472.63 and the date of his hire is September15, 2008.

Sincerely,Gregory SpellmeyerActing OAG Custodian of Records

Your request for government records (# W86481) is as follows:

Pursuant to executive order 26 resume of on file for DAG Andrew J. Mcnally, DAG Bruce J. Solomon, DAGChristopher Huber. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10a Salary and date of hire for DAG Andrew J. Mcnally, DAGBruce J. Solomon, DAG Christopher Huber.

Christy her T. Huber

EducationBoston University School of Law Boston MA

Juris Doctor, May 2002, ~ ~

Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA B.A. in Economics and Political Science Ma 1999

'~

Professional StatusAdmitted to Pennsylvania Bar (December 2002); New Jersey Bar (December 2005)

Work ExperienceJudge Joel Schneider, U.S.M.J., D.N.J. Camden, NJLaw Clerk, November 2Q06 present

Research and draft memoranda on various substantive and procedural issues in a varietyof civil and criminal matters. Aid in drafting orders and opinions

Judge Tnnianne Bongiovanni, U.S.M.J., D.N.J. Trenton, NJLaw Clerk, May X006 -- Sep#ember 20 6 Research and draft memoranda vn various substantive and procedural issues in a varietyof civil and criminal matters. Aid in drafting orders and opinions.

Deasey, Mahoney ~ Bender, LC; Philadelphia, PAAssociate, August 2004 May 2006 Medium size arm specializing in commercial litigation, construction litigation and civil rightslitigation.

Responsible for defending 30-40 cases throughout the litigation process, includingsettlement negotiations, depositions and drafting and arguing motions.

Sweeney and Sheehan, PC, Philadelphia, PAAssociate, November 2002 August 2004

Medium size firm specializing in insurance defense litigation. Responsible for approximately 50-60 cases in various areas including premises liability,automobile liability, dram shop liability.

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Harry Scheeler v Office of the Attorney General

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