The North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion on March 23 regarding whether the City of Mandan violated state law by not responding to an open records request after blocking a requester’s email address.
The issue concerns compliance with North Dakota Century Code section 44-04-18, which requires public entities to respond to open records requests within a reasonable time. The matter arose when the City of Mandan blocked an individual’s email address but provided prior notice and alternative ways for the person to submit requests.
According to the opinion, “The City of Mandan provided the requester with notice and alternative means to make open records requests before blocking his email address. As such, the City of Mandan did not violate N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18 in this instance because it had no obligation to respond to a request that it did not receive.”
This finding clarifies that as long as a city provides advance notification and other communication options before restricting access from one method—such as blocking an email—the city fulfills its legal obligations under state open records law if it does not receive further requests through approved channels.
No additional background or further steps were outlined in this opinion.
