TECfusions v. Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Malone and Technical.ly

Case Number: 473 CD 2026

Court: Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania

Clients: Katie Malone and Technical.ly

Background: In November 2025, Katie Malone, a reporter for Technical.ly, submitted a public records request to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development seeking communications to or from its top official related to data centers. 

The department partially granted the request, but it redacted or withheld some responsive records, citing several exemptions in Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law, including one that protects confidential proprietary information and trade secrets. 

Malone appealed to the Office of Open Records. TECfusions, a data center company, requested to participate in the appeal, arguing some of the records at issue contain the company’s trade secrets and/or confidential proprietary information. But after the OOR allowed TECfusions to participate and extended the timeline of the appeal to allow all parties to provide evidence to support their position, the company didn’t submit any evidence or arguments.  

In March 2026, the OOR ordered the department to turn over some of the records it initially withheld from Malone, concluding they were not subject to the trade secrets exemption because neither the department nor TECfusions provided specific evidence to show that disclosure of the information would cause the company competitive harm.   

TECfusions appealed the OOR’s decision to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. Paula Knudsen Burke, the Reporters Committee’s Pennsylvania-based attorney, began representing Malone and Technical.ly in this matter in April 2026.

Filings:

2026-03-10: OOR final determination

2026-04-09: TECfusions petition for review