In a hearing Monday, several justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court criticized the Star Tribune's arguments that a state-created insurance agency should open its records to the public.
An effort by the Star Tribune to obtain records from the Minnesota Joint Underwriting Association (MJUA) has turned into a two-year legal battle that has reached the state's highest court. The outcome could have major implications for the public's access to records held by government-created entities that operate like a business or nonprofit.
Star Tribune attorney John Borger faced blistering questions from justices who seemed skeptical that the MJUA became an "agency of the state" when the Legislature created it in the 1970s.
Borger said the state's data practices act granted access to the MJUA's records because a public body formed it for a public purpose — to provide insurance to providers like doctors, nursing homes, hospitals and bars, which need coverage to stay in business. But the MJUA's policyholders are considered such a high risk they cannot get covered in the private market.
"This agency was created … to further an end of Minnesota state government," Borger said.
Justice Christopher Dietzen asked Borger why the MJUA should be considered a public entity even though it was not specified as such under state law.
"I'm having trouble getting my head around that," Dietzen said.
The justices sounded more sympathetic to the argument made by MJUA attorney Paula Vraa, who told the justices that the association is not a state agency because it is funded by private groups, not taxpayers.
