A newspaper publishing company applied to unseal a court record and access exhibits filed by a public institution in an action alleging misappropriation of public funds by a former manager.
Before the motion was heard, the public institution discontinued its action and retrieved its exhibits pursuant to article 108 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
The majority held that the right of access to court records under article 11 C.C.P. extends only to what is in the record at the time it is consulted, and does not give a right to access exhibits already retrieved by the parties.
The dissent held that a discontinuance cannot defeat an application for access filed prior to it, and that the court retained jurisdiction to apply the Dagenais/Mentuck framework to the appellant's motion.
The appeal was dismissed with the majority concluding that the Dagenais/Mentuck test does not apply where articles 11 and 108 C.C.P. confer no judicial discretion.
