Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

I can't believe the city wouldn't give you contact information for the city official in charge of your matter. If you are looking for the name of your neighbor who brought it to the city's attention you are probably out of luck. I seriously doubt the FOIA would require the city to disclose that information so you could confront your neighbor.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is inapplicable to your case. FOIA allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The City of Long Beach is not a federal agency.

Your issue concerns California's state version of the FOIA, which is known as the California Public Records Act. �In 1968, the Legislature clarified the scope of the public�s right to inspect records by enacting the CPRA.� (County of Los Angeles v. Superior Court (2nd Dist. 2000) 82 Cal.App.4th 819, 825.) The CPRA �was enacted for the purpose of increasing freedom of information by giving members of the public access to information in the possession of public agencies.� (Filarsky v. Superior Court (2002) 28 Cal.4th 419, 425-426.) �All public records are subject to disclosure unless the Public Records Act expressly provides otherwise.� (BRV, Inc. v. Superior Court (3rd Dist. 2006) 143 Cal.App.4th 742, 751.)

The CPRA is codified at Government Code section 6250 to section 6270. I suggest you look through those sections to see if there are any specific exemptions to disclosure that apply. On the other hand, you can initiate a request with the City of Long Beach, under the CPRA, and see if they can point to an exemption or just give you the information you seek.