The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that The Cincinnati Enquirer has a right to obtain records related to $51 million in overruns at Paul Brown Stadium that are in possession of the private companies that built the stadium.

        The high court also ruled that the county must pay more than $9,900 in legal fees for the paper.

        In June 2000, the Enquirer requested all correspondence — including e-mails, memos and reports — among the construction companies building the $450 million, publicly-funded stadium.

        The county responded by saying it did not have the records and that the newspaper would have to get them from the companies. Those companies denied access.

        The Supreme Court, in a 6-0 decision, upheld an appeals-court ruling and said the public has a right to see the records and that the county has an obligation to get the records from the private companies.

        “Given the scope of this undertaking, the public had a legitimate need to know whether the publicly funded project was proceeding as planned and the reasons for cost overruns,” the unsigned opinion states.

        Enquirer attorney Jack Greiner said that by awarding attorney fees, the high court is acknowledging the newspaper was right from the start.

        “What the court rejected today was the notion a private enterprise, that is reimbursed by tax dollars to perform an inherently public function, can somehow assert (that) it is private and avoid complying with the law,” Mr. Greiner said.

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