Parsons v. Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency

In Parsons v. Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, 910 A.2d 177 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2006), petition for allowance of appeal denied, 591 Pa. 686, 917 A.2d 316 (2007), the Court addressed the Trade Secrets Act as an exception to the Law. Therein, the newspaper requested the vouchers for expenses for travel and for the retreats conducted by PHEAA, which PHEAA denied. On appeal, PHEAA argued the documents were trade secrets and, therefore exempt from disclosure, but acknowledged that many of the vouchers and receipts would contain no competitive information at all. The Court determined that the requested documents were public records under the Law. Parsons. The Court opined that to constitute a "trade secret" under state Trade Secrets Act, it must be an "actual secret of peculiar importance to the business and constitute competitive value to the owner." Id. at 185. The Court rejected PHEAA's contention that the Trade Secrets Act may serve as an exception to the Law to exempt public records containing no trade secrets at all. Id. The Law favors public access regarding any expenditure of public funds. Id. The Court were cognizant of the fact that some of the requested records may refer to secret information of competitive value and determined that the information may be redacted and the balance supplied under Law. Id. The Court retained jurisdiction over this matter should any disputes arise over the extent of any redaction. Id.