In what attorneys said was a “hot bench” during oral arguments on an issue of first impression, the Commonwealth Court has decided that a New York attorney’s Right-to-Know request for documents from an insurance company that is currently in liquidation through the state was improperly advanced through the Office of Open Records.
The decision follows the Commonwealth Court’s 2001 decision to retain jurisdiction over the liquidation of Reliance Insurance Co. (in Liquidation) and appoint the Pennsylvania Insurance Department as statutory liquidator. According to lawyers, the decision indicates that when the court appoints a statutory liquidator of an estate, nothing in that estate is subject to the RTKL.
