Before the Court en banc (Justice Saitta recused). Opinion per curiam.
In this appeal, the Court addressed the scope of public access to certain records maintained by the Administrative Office of Courts (“AOC”). The AOC is charged with administering Nevada’s Foreclosure Mediation Program (“FMP”). Appellant Civil Rights for Seniors (“CRS”) sought access to documents related to the FMP under Nevada’s Public Records Act (“the Act”), NRS 239. Generally speaking, the Act requires governmental entities to produce public records unless they are otherwise deemed confidential. NRS 239.010. CRS’s request included copies of mediator statements and FMP certificates, correspondence between AOC employees and law firm billings. The AOC denied the request, claiming the documents were either confidential or privileged. In response, CRS filed a petition for writ of mandamus with the district court to compel production of the documents. The district court rejected the petition on the grounds that the AOC was not a “governmental entity” within the meaning of the Act and therefore not subject to its disclosure requirements. The Court affirmed the district court but did not address the applicability of the Act to the AOC. Instead, the Court held that the confidentiality provisions of the Foreclosure Mediation Rules rendered the documents confidential as a matter of law. As such, the documents were not subject to disclosure under the Act regardless of whether the AOC constituted a “governmental entity” within the meaning of the Act. The Court further concluded that the documents were not subject to disclosure as court records or pursuant to principles of common law. Affirmed. (Lucas Foletta, Associate in the Reno office of McDonald Carano Wilson.)
