Wesley F. White v. Baker County Medical Services, Inc., d/b/a Ed Fraser Memorial Hospital, et al.
The First DCA reversed the dismissal of a Public Records Act complaint against a private company leasing a public hospital, holding that the statutory exemption under § 395.3036 is an affirmative defense that cannot be resolved at the motion to dismiss stage when its applicability — specifically compliance with the public finance accountability provisions of § 155.40(18) — cannot be determined from the four corners of the complaint. The court affirmed dismissal of the Hospital Authority because the appellant abandoned that issue by failing to brief it on appeal. This decision is important to civil practitioners because it reaffirms that a plaintiff pursuing public records relief need not anticipate or negate a defendant's statutory exemption in the complaint, and it clarifies that § 155.40(18) compliance is a live, unresolved condition precedent to the § 395.3036 exemption for private hospital lessees.
Key facts
- In late 2023 through early 2024, Wesley White submitted public records requests to Baker County Medical Services, Inc. (BCMS) and the Baker County Hospital Authority, seeking documents related to an alleged security breach or ransomware attack at BCMS.
- BCMS is a private, not-for-profit company that has operated Ed Fraser Memorial Hospital under a lease agreement with the Hospital Authority — a public body created by the Florida Legislature — since 1993.
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Holdings
- A public records exemption is an affirmative defense; the burden to establish it rests with the defendant, and the plaintiff need not draft the complaint to anticipate or negate it. §…
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