State finds South Bend violated public records law in handling city attorney invoices

By Logan Foster | Redress South Bend

Jan. 23, 2026

South Bend City Hall is shown in downtown South Bend, Ind. Indiana’s Public Access Counselor found the city violated state public records law in handling requests for city attorney invoices. (Photo: Logan Foster)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Indiana’s Public Access Counselor has found that the City of South Bend violated state public records law by taking an unreasonable amount of time to release city attorney invoices requested under the state’s Access to Public Records Act.

In an advisory opinion issued Jan. 21, Public Access Counselor Jennifer Ruby concluded that the city exceeded the “reasonable time” standard when it delayed the production of redacted legal invoices for more than four months.

The complaint, filed by Logan Foster, sought records related to a Jan. 13, 2025, incident at the St. Joseph County City Building and invoices and related documents for outside legal services used by the city over a multiyear period.

The city produced the police and incident-related records on May 27, 2025, and delivered the final set of redacted legal invoices on June 17, 2025, according to the opinion.

While the Public Access Counselor determined that the city’s delay in producing the police-related records did not violate the law due to the volume, complexity and redaction requirements involved, Ruby found that the additional delay in producing legal invoices was unreasonable.

“This office agrees that four and a half months to provide copies of the redacted legal invoices exceeded a reasonable time as contemplated by the statute,” Ruby wrote.

The opinion noted that only two law firms were identified as responsive to the request for attorney invoices and accompanying documents and that monthly billings should have constituted a smaller and more straightforward subset of records to locate and prepare for release.

Under the Access to Public Records Act, public agencies are required to provide requested records within a reasonable time after receiving a request, though the statute does not define a specific deadline. The Public Access Counselor’s office has previously suggested a 30-day benchmark, subject to adjustment based on agency size, request scope and operational constraints.

The advisory opinion does not impose penalties or sanctions but serves as a formal determination that the city failed to comply with the law in part. Indiana courts often consider such opinions as persuasive authority in public records disputes.

City officials had not publicly responded to the advisory opinion as of publication.