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JAYSON AMSTER v. PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MARYLAND, et al.
Listen to this articleMaryland Public Information Act — Commercial lease — Confidential commercial information
In 2011, Calvert Tract, LLC (“Calvert Tract”) entered into a lease with Whole Foods (the “Lease”) for a grocery store to join Calvert Tract’s new development. In April 2012, appellant Jayson Amster, a member of a group opposing the development, sought access to the Lease and various communications related to the development. He delivered a request for this information to Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker under the Maryland Public Information Act (“MPIA”), now codified at Maryland Code (2014, 2018 Supp.), General Provisions (“GP”) § 4-201. 1 This request was denied. On July 3, 2012, Amster filed an MPIA complaint in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County requesting a copy of the Lease. Calvert Tract successfully intervened as a defendant and both Baker and Calvert Tract filed motions for summary judgment on the basis that the Lease was exempt from disclosure as confidential commercial information. The trial court concluded that the Lease was indeed confidential information and granted summary judgment. The court also substituted Prince George’s County (the “County”) in as a defendant and dismissed the suit against Baker individually.2 …
