Electronic Transaction Consultants Corporation filed this action in the Superior Court of Fulton County seeking to enjoin the State Road and Tollway Authority from releasing a certain document in response to a third party’s request under Georgia’s Open Records Act, OCGA § 50-18-70 et seq. After a hearing, the trial court determined that the document, a detailed price proposal that Electronic submitted to the Authority as part of its winning bid to supply part of a highway tolling system project, contains Electronic’s trade secrets and is exempt from production under the Act. Based on this determination, the trial court permanently enjoined the Authority from releasing the document.1 The Authority appeals, contending that the trial court erred in finding that the price proposal is a protected trade secret. For the reasons explained below, we reverse. “Entry of a permanent injunction is appropriate only in clear and urgent cases where there is a vital necessity to prevent a party from being damaged and left without an adequate remedy at law.” Citation and punctuation omitted. Smith v. DeKalb County , 288 Ga. App. 574, 576-577 2 654 SE2d 469 2007. In determining whether the trial court’s grant of a permanent injunction was proper, the standard of review on appeal is whether or not the trial court manifestly abused its discretion. A trial court manifestly abuses its discretion when it grants an injunction adverse to a party without any evidence to support such judgment and contrary to the law and equity. Citation and punctuation omitted. Id. at 576 2.
Georgia’s Open Records Act provides that all public records of an agency . . . , except those which by order of a court of this state or by law are prohibited or specifically exempted from being open to inspection by the general public, shall be open for a personal inspection by any citizen of this state at a reasonable time and place; and those in charge of such records shall not refuse this privilege to any citizen. OCGA § 50-18-70 b. “The purpose of Georgia’s Open Records Act is to allow the public to evaluate the expenditure of public funds and to foster confidence in government through openness to the public.” Punctuation and footnote omitted. City of Atlanta v. Corey Entertainment , 278 Ga. 474, 476 1 604 SE2d 140 2004.2 “Because public policy strongly favors open government, any purported statutory exemption from disclosure under the Open Records Act must be narrowly construed.” Punctuation, emphasis, and footnote omitted. Id.
