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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE
AT NASHVILLE
February 6, 2002 Session

MEMPHIS PUBLISHING COMPANY, ET AL., v.
CHEROKEE CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES, INC., ET AL.

Appeal by permission from the Court of Appeals, Middle Section
Circuit Court for Shelby County
No. CT-002141-00 John R. McCarroll, Jr., Judge

No. M2000-01705-SC-R11-CV - Filed September 5, 2002
AND


JOHN MORGAN v. CHEROKEE CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES, INC.
Appeal by permission from the Court of Appeals, Middle Section
Chancery Court for Davidson County
No. 00-2419-II Carol L. McCoy, Chancellor

No. M2000-02382-SC-R11-CV - Filed September 5, 2002
These two cases, consolidated for consideration, present two issues of enormous significance.  First, we must decide whether a non-profit corporation that provides privatized services to a governmental entity is subject to the public access requirements of the Tennessee Public Records Act.  The second issue concerns the authority of the state, acting through the Comptroller of the Treasury, to require said corporation to submit to a state audit.  In Memphis Publishing Co. v. Cherokee Children & Family Services, Inc., Memphis Publishing Company and others seek access to records belonging to Cherokee Children & Family Services, Inc., a non-profit corporation which contracted with the Tennessee Department of Human Services to help administer a state-subsidized day care program. In seeking access to the records, the plaintiffs rely on both the Tennessee Public Records Act and provisions in the contracts between the corporation and the state.  In Morgan v. Cherokee Children & Family Services, Inc., the Comptroller of the Treasury, John Morgan, seeks to require the same corporation to submit to a state audit.  As authority for the audit, Morgan relies upon the contracts at issue in Memphis Publishing Co. and upon 2000 Tenn. Pub. Acts. 960 (now codified at Tenn. Code Ann.

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