Cases & Developments

Opinion affirming-in-part and reversing-in-part the judgment of the trial court.  Plaintiff, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), sought a writ of mandamus to compel Louisiana State University to release records that were the subject of eight public records requests PETA filed regarding the care and use of birds in the laboratory of a professor in LSU’s Department of Biological Sciences, including photographic and videographic records.  The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of PETA on all of the requests.  The Court of Appeals of Louisiana affirmed with respect to records related to the birds’ care, including veterinary care, daily observations, adverse event reports, and disposition records.  The court reversed with respect to the videographic records, holding that footage that had not already been the basis for published findings was protected under an exception to the Public Records Law for records on research on subjects of a patentable or licensable nature.