Zillow sues Richland County over failing to produce complete property records under FOIA
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Attorneys with the company Zillow Inc. filed a lawsuit against Richland County that accuses the county of failing to provide complete property records in response to a records request.
Zillow is a company that relies on publicly accessible data related to the housing market. According to a lawsuit filed on June 12, Zillow had filed a Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA request, for records relating to Richland County’s property assessment for the past four years with no issue.
However, in December 2022, the county failed to provide the necessary records, at first claiming the records do not exist, the lawsuit said. Then, later that day, the Richland County Ombudsman’s Office said in an email that it does not have to provide a copy of the records because they already exist online, according to exhibits provided in the initial filing.
The online database Richland County officials pointed Zillow to had numerous properties with missing assessed values and tax information ― including parcels with missing owner names, the lawsuit alleges.
Richland County allows for residents to not have their information on the publicly-available databases that the ombudsman’s office referenced in their response to Zillow.
This service Richland County provides is called “opt out,” and residents that ask to “opt out” of property record information online will not have their name, tax amount, how much a home is sold for and deed visible to the public on Richland County’s database. Zillow provided an example of a property in the Summit neighborhood that had this key information information.
WIS News 10 asked the county about similar missing records identified in the Kings Grant neighborhood back in May but did not receive a response.
In addition to parcels where owners have asked Richland County to “opt out” of the record, some properties have parcels with no assessed values and no tax information, according to evidence provided in the lawsuit.
Zillow’s lawsuit provides record of how the county denied the records request for a third time by arguing that a public body would have to “create public records” to answer Zillow’s request.
Zillow’s attorneys argue in the filing that they specifically requested an electronic document under FOIA, like a spreadsheet, which would exist if an online database exists.
“Even if the websites referenced by Richland County had complete information, Zillow specifically requested an electronic copy of the assessment files for all the parcels, not the option to search parcels one by one online,” the lawsuit said. “While the information may possibly be reconstructed using a parcel-by-parcel online search, it also exists in its original electronic data format, which is what Zillow requests, and what Richland County is required to provide under FOIA.”
Richland County Administrator Leonardo Brown was served in person with a copy of the summons and complaint on June 20.
In the lawsuit, Zillow is asking for the court to order Richland County to produce the records, pay for its attorneys and produce the same type of records promptly in the future.
The county has yet to file an answer in the courts. WIS News 10 reached out to the county regarding this lawsuit and has not heard back.
According to the South Carolina Public Index, three attorneys from the law group Burr and Forman are representing the county against Zillow.
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