The New Jersey Supreme Court declined to adopt an exception to the "American Rule" for common-law right-of-access claims to public records and stated that the imposition of fee-shifting in this category of cases "would venture far beyond the narrow exceptions" to the rule that the state's courts have adopted.

In this appeal, the Asbury Park Press contended that it was entitled to attorney fees in a claim for common-law right of access for internal affairs files for a Neptune Township police officer convicted of murdering his wife with his service revolver, according to the opinion. The trial court dismissed the publication's claim under the Open Public Records Act, but ordered the contested records redacted and released on the basis of common-law right of access and granted a partial fee award of $85,665.13.