High court will hear subcontracting appeal

The Minnesota Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from two companies that want to keep their contract for work on a school construction project private.

Johnson Controls and Architectural Resources both worked on a $78 million reconstruction project for the St. Louis County school district. The Timberjay newspaper had requested to look at the subcontract, but the companies claimed the agreement was between two private firms.

The matter ended up before the Minnesota Court of Appeals, which ruled in the newspaper's favor. The court said the companies were performing a government function and were subject to the state's open records law. But the state Supreme Court now says it will give the case another look.

The companies have argued such subcontracts contain trade secrets and proprietary information.

The case could affect whether the public has access to subcontracts in cases where a government agency hires one company to oversee the hiring of other companies to complete a job.

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