Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...t the public welfare. See, e.g., Perez v. Perez, 164 So.2d 561 (Fla. 3d DCA 1964); Harman v. Harman, 128 So.2d 164 (Fla. 3d DCA 1961). While Florida, as a matter of public policy, has expressly made certain civil proceedings confidential (adoptions, § 63.162, Fla....

...[5] This exclusion rests within the sound discretion of the court except in adoption proceedings where the legislature has specifically declared that such hearings should be held in closed court (and the file not subject to inspection except upon order of the court). See Section 63.162, F.S....

...e procedure insofar as possible in the conduct of the litigation involving the same would therefore be justified. 62 A.L.R.2d, supra, at p. 513. [5] See Sec. 742.031, F.S. (bastardy proceedings); sec. 39.03(1)(b) (certain juvenile proceedings); sec. 63.162 (adoption proceedings), and sec....

...exempt from the provisions of subsection (1)." Subsections (b) through (n) of section 119.07(3) provide for specific exemptions from disclosure. The legislature has enacted many other exceptions now contained in the 1983 Florida statutes. See, e.g. § 63.162 (adoption proceeding records); § 112.533(2) (law enforcement complaint records); § 213.053(2) (tax records); § 229.551(3)(k) (student achievement test records); § 230.2315(3) (educational alternative program records); § 231.262(4) (tea...

...rom public inspection pursuant to § 624.319, F.S. 1975; and adoption records made confidential by chapter 63, F.S. 1975, the "Florida Adoption Act." [2] The interplay *785 between the public meetings Act and the public records Act is illustrated in § 63.162, pertaining to adoption hearings and records, which draws together as an expression of a single legislative policy provisions for the confidentiality of adoption hearings and records: "Notwithstanding any other law concerning public hearing...

...1975, refers to § 63.181 as the source of confidentiality for adoption records. In fact, Florida Statutes 1975 contains no § 63.181, that section having been repealed and replaced by the 1973 Florida Adoption Act, ch. 73-159, § 24, Fla.Laws, which provides for confidentiality of adoption records in § 63.162(2), F.S....

...nd impartial trial. Additionally, the Florida Legislature has vested the courts with the statutory authority in certain types of proceedings to exclude the press and the public. See, e.g., § 39.03 Fla. Stat., F.S.A., (certain juvenile proceedings); § 63.162 Fla....

...The press had given the bitter dispute great play and had covered all the earlier proceedings. The hearing on a subsequent adoption proceeding was scheduled to begin May 29, 1984. The child's attorney-ad-litem moved the court to close all the proceedings pursuant to section 63.162(1), Florida Statutes (1983). The media protested and urged the court to deny the motion on grounds that the policy underlying the statute was inapplicable to the facts of this case and that any right of privacy the child might claim had been waived. The court ruled section 63.162(1) unconstitutional, reasoning that if the constitutional guarantee of a fair trial did not outweigh the media's first amendment right of access to court proceedings, no rights implicated in the present case could counterbalance the first amendment....

...A petition for writ of certiorari was filed, the Fifth District Court of Appeal certified the question to be of great public importance and passed it directly to the Supreme Court without addressing the merits. We reverse the order of the circuit court and find section 63.162(1) constitutional. Section 63.162 provides, in pertinent part: Notwithstanding any other law concerning public hearings and records: (1) All hearings held in proceedings under this act shall be held in closed court without admittance of any person other than essential...

...matters of "real public or general concern," and, by the admission of the newspaper's own counsel, the impairment is minimal. For this reason, we reverse the order of the circuit court and direct that all proceedings be conducted in compliance with section 63.162(1), Florida Statutes (1983)....

...privacy interests. Otherwise, the Petitioners are not entitled to relief. The Respondents sought production of records and other documents related to Hugh's adoption of Jerry. The Petitioners objected on the ground that such disclosure would violate section 63.162, Florida Statutes (2004), which provides that adoption proceedings and the records thereof are confidential and subject to strict rules of disclosure....

...The Respondents argued that their discovery request was proper because their independent civil fraud action was not an adoption proceeding. Before the discovery dispute, the circuit court denied the Petitioners' motion to declare the action subject to section 63.162....

...Section 63.042(3) denies one group of natural persons the opportunity to adopt based upon their known sexual activities. It does not require public disclosure of personal matters. Indeed, chapter 63 makes the files and the proceedings concerning adoptions confidential. § 63.162, Fla....

...*118 courts and that the burden for closing civil court proceedings is on the party seeking closure. But the court also stated that: " While Florida, as a matter of public policy, has expressly made certain civil proceedings confidential (adoptions, § 63.162, Fla....

...2d DCA 1988) (statute requiring closure of dependency proceedings not unconstitutional). [4] See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967). [5] In In re the Adoption of H.Y.T., 458 So.2d 1127 (Fla.1984), our state supreme court upheld the statute closing all adoption proceedings. See § 63.162 Fla....

...l remain confidential and closed to the public." Section 39.408(2)(c), relating to the confidentiality, custody and permanent placement hearings for dependent children, is clearly indistinguishable in intent, scope and purpose from the provisions of section 63.162(1), Florida Statutes (1983), relating to confidentiality of adoption hearings. Section 63.162(1) provides that: All hearings held in proceedings under this act shall be held in closed court without admittance of any person other than essential officers of the court, the parties, witnesses, counsel, persons who have not consented to the adoption and are required to consent, and representatives of the agencies who are present to perform their official duties. It was section 63.162(1) that our supreme court in H.Y.T. specifically considered in a media attack based on first amendment freedom of the press rights. The supreme court in H.Y.T. held section 63.162(1) to be constitutionally sound in the face of that media attack....

...rt decisions, we are nevertheless bound by the latest precedent as established by the Supreme Court of Florida that bears on the issues before us. See Hoffman. Inasmuch as we are unable on any ground to distinguish the constitutional implications of section 63.162 from section 39.408(2)(c), we are thus bound to follow the precedent of H.Y.T....

...wing statutes or as they may be amended or renumbered: (i) Chapter 39 records relating to dependency matters, termination of parental rights, guardians ad litem, child abuse, neglect, and abandonment. § 39.0132(3), Fla. Stat. (ii) Adoption records. § 63.162, Fla....

...ating to dependency matters, termination of parental rights, guardians ad litem, child abuse, neglect, and abandonment. § 39.0132(3), Fla. Stat. (If the document is filed within a Chapter 39 case, this form is not required.) _____ Adoption records. § 63.162, Fla....

...ranting intervention. Therefore, we affirm on this point also. Finally, as appellees contend, the trial court specifically stated in its order that, in determining whether the names should be disclosed, it considered all of the factors enumerated in § 63.162, Florida Statutes (1987). The court weighed the purpose of the grandparents' request for disclosure pursuant to § 63.162(1)(d)4.a., Florida Statutes — reason information is sought, against potential harm to the appellants....

...on their efforts for the sake of their own emotional well-being. REMANDED FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS NOT INCONSISTENT HEREWITH. BERANEK and DELL, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] We have used only the child's initials in the style of this case in accordance with Section 63.162(3), Florida Statutes (1979)....

...At that hearing, petitioner submitted a copy of the final judgment of adoption with the case number and names of the adoptive parents obliterated. Judge Cawthon ordered petitioner to disclose the names of the adoptive parents, but she refused, citing the confidentiality requirement of section 63.162(4) Florida Statutes [1] . Judge Cawthon then found that good cause existed under section 63.162(4)(d) [2] for disclosing the names of the adoptive parents....

...appropriate. The orders of the trial court directing disclosure, and holding petitioner in contempt are reversed and this cause is remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion. SMITH, C.J., and SHIVERS and WIGGINTON, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] Section 63.162(4) provides in pertinent part: (4) No person shall disclose from the records the name and identity of a natural parent, an adoptive parent, or an adoptee unless: ........

...interests of the adoptee, but shall also give due consideration to the interests of the adoptive and natural parents... . [2] Id. [3] Fla.R.Crm.P. 3.830. [4] See Fla.R.App.P. 9.100(f). [5] Section 61.1302, et seq. [6] Subsections (a) through (c) of § 63.162(4) provide for disclosure when authorized by an individual who is protected by the confidentiality requirement.

...law and is consistent with the historical and traditional presumption of closed juvenile proceedings. TPR proceedings are not the only proceedings the Florida Legislature has required by statute to be closed as a matter of public policy. Adoptions (section 63.162, Florida Statutes (1999)), actions establishing parental status in situations of gestational surrogacy (section 742.16, Florida Statutes (1999)), and hearings for appointment of a guardian ad litem (section 29.827, Florida Statutes (1999)), are also required to be closed proceedings....

...tion in the court file of her original adoption proceeding. The issue *451 presented for review is whether such a person must make a showing of good cause in order to obtain the release of medical information contained in such court file pursuant to Section 63.162(2), Florida Statutes (1975)....

...The appellant specifically waived any hearing to present evidence and argument in support of her petition contending that the trial court had no discretion but to grant the said petition. The trial court denied the petition in the absence of a showing of good cause. This appeal follows. Section 63.162, Florida Statutes (1975), provides in relevant part as follows: "Notwithstanding any other law concerning public hearings and records: ......

...s discretion to open up the adoption court files as requested by the appellant. We hold that information contained in an adoption court file shall not be released to anyone except upon court order within the sound discretion of the trial court under Section 63.162(2), Florida Statutes (1975)....

...The only exception to this holding is that the name or identity of the adoptive parents or adopted child may be released upon written authorization of the adoptive parent or adopted child, who shall have attained the age of eighteen, or upon court order for good cause shown in exceptional cases under Section 63.162(4), Florida Statutes (1975)....

...rantees have created a penumbral right to privacy that is no less important than the rights expressly specified in the Constitution. Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 85 S.Ct. 1678, 14 L.Ed.2d 510 (1965). See also Art. I, § 23, Fla. Const. [1] § 63.162(2), Fla....

...was a proper party to adopt. The trial court agreed and denied the motion to intervene. The trial court then excluded counsel for DCF and the guardian ad litem from the courtroom because adoption proceedings are closed to all but the parties. 3 See § 63.162, Fla....

...However, the same cannot be said of the interest in protecting the rights of children which has always been of primary importance and given preferential treatment by the courts of this land. For example, in In re: Adoption of H.Y.T., 458 So.2d 1127 (Fla. 1984), the court upheld the constitutionality of section 63.162(1), Florida Statutes (1983), against a challenge by the press that the statute making adoption proceedings confidential did not outweigh the media's first amendment right of access to court proceedings....

...ating to dependency matters, termination of parental rights, guardians ad litem, child abuse, neglect, and abandonment. § 39.0132(3), Fla. Stat. (If the document is filed within a Chapter 39 case, this form is not required.) _____ Adoption records. § 63.162, Fla....

...and the files and evidence presented will be open to the public and the press." HRS filed a written response which was treated as a "Motion to Close Hearing." The hearing officer determined that the hearing would be a licensing proceeding pursuant to § 409.175, Florida Statutes, and ruled that § 63.162(1), Florida Statutes, and Florida Administrative Code Rule 10C-15.53(5) thus did not apply. The hearing officer did further note that *960 §§ 63.162(2) and (6), Florida Statutes, provide for "limited confidentiality to the papers and records of ......

...themselves, or others, only by their initials... ." HRS then petitioned this court for review of the hearing officer's order. Florida Statutes, Chapter 63, is entitled the "Florida Adoption Act," and establishes standards for hearings on adoptions. Section 63.162(1) provides that "hearings held in proceedings under this Act shall be held in closed court......

...earings with regard to such licensing are governed by the provisions of § 409.175 and Chapter 120, Florida Statutes. As the hearing officer correctly discerned, the action in the present case thus does not involve a proceeding under Chapter 63, and § 63.162(1) therefore does not require closure. Nevertheless, as the hearing officer recognized, §§ 63.162(2) and (6) do provide confidentiality for identifying information regarding the adoptee, the adoptive parents, and the natural parents of an adopted child, and such confidentiality is not conditioned upon the nature of the proceeding....

...earing were conditioned upon a requirement that confidential information not be published. But no legal right has been shown as to this asserted "burden," and the procedure suggested by HRS would not comport with the confidentiality requirement of §§ 63.162(2) and (6)....

...NOTES [1] Inasmuch as review after final agency action may provide an inadequate remedy, we entertain review pursuant to § 120.68(1), Florida Statutes, and Fla.R.App.P. 9.100. [2] In the event that HRS utilizes live testimony, the confidentiality required by §§ 63.162(2) and (6) would still apply....

...We affirm only insofar as the case number is released to the petitioner and the motion for relief from judgment is consolidated into the adoption case. We reverse the court order giving M.D.M. copies or access to any other pleadings in the case, because such records are protected from disclosure by section 63.162(2), Florida Statutes....

...However, he was prevented from filing a motion because he did not have the case number of the adoption file. The clerk and the adoptive parents assert that M.D.M. is precluded from learning any information regarding the file, including the case number, because *859 the file is confidential under section 63.162(2)....

...Thus, the clerk will not accept his pleading for filing without a case number, but he cannot obtain the case number because the file is confidential. The confidentiality of papers and records in termination and adoption proceedings is protected by statute. See § 63.089(8), Fla. Stat., as to termination proceedings, and § 63.162(2), Fla. Stat., as to adoption proceedings. Section 63.162(2) and (4) provide, in pertinent part: (2) All papers and records pertaining to the adoption, including the original birth certificate, whether part of the permanent record of the court or a file in the office of an adoption entity are confidential and subject to inspection only upon order of the court; ......

...ions or other proceedings filed with the clerk, and electronic records, videotapes or stenographic tapes of court proceedings. Neither the statute nor the rule makes the actual case file number a part of the record. The confidentiality provisions of section 63.162(2) protect the identities of the parties and the child....

...Release of the number of the case file alone does not disclose *860 any confidential information. Therefore, we conclude that the court did not err in ordering the clerk to release the case file number to the petitioner. However, the court went further and ordered the release of documents clearly protected under section 63.162....

...claims that he needs information regarding the identity of the adoptive parents and adoption attorney so that he knows who to serve with his motion. While he must serve someone with this information, we conclude that the statute provides the necessary avenue to obtain whatever information he is entitled to receive. Section 63.162(2) provides that confidential information may be released from the adoption file by court order. However, in order to obtain such information, M.D.M. was required to serve the Department of Children and Families with notice of the hearing requesting release of information. See § 63.162(2), Fla....

...ease of the case file number of the adoption. We reverse the order to the extent that it authorized disclosure of any portion of the adoption file. M.D.M. must seek any further information from the adoption file in conformance with the provisions of section 63.162....

...When a person is adopted, he becomes the lineal descendant of his adoptive parents, and he may no longer inherit from his natural parents. § 63.172, Fla. Stat. (1985). Upon adoption, the original birth certificate is subject to inspection only upon order of the court. § 63.162(2), Fla....

requirements of s 119.07(1), F.S. (1982 Supp.). Section 63.162(2) and (3), F.S. (1982 Supp.), deals with the

...Moreover, it is conceivable that once the mother was given access to the dependency file, she would simply turn the information over to her present counsel. Appellee defends the court’s decision on the basis of the language in section 39.0132(3) subjecting the right to access the records to “the provisions of section 63.162 . . . .” Section 63.162(2), Florida Statutes, states in pertinent part: In the case of an adoption not handled by the department or a child-placing agency licensed by the department, the department must be given notice of hearing and be permi...

...pply to petitioner’s case, being a dependency case, section 39.411(3) provides: All records shall be inspected only upon order of the court by persons deemed by the court to have a proper interest therein, except that, subject to the provisions of section 63.162, a child and the parents or legal custodians of the child and their attorneys, law enforcement agencies, and the department and its designees shall always have the right to inspect and copy any official record pertaining to the child. (Emphasis contained in respondent’s response.) The above quoted statutory provision is clear and unambiguous. Since the present action does not implicate a section 63.162 restriction, we are of the view that petitioner has a clear right to inspection of the official record....

...The press had given the bitter dispute great play and had covered all the earlier proceedings. The hearing on a subsequent adoption proceeding was scheduled to begin May 29, 1984. The child’s attorney-ad-litem moved the court to close all the proceedings pursuant to section 63.162(1), Florida Statutes (1983). The media protested and urged the court to deny the motion on grounds that the policy underlying the statute was inapplicable to the facts of this case and that any right of privacy the child might claim had been waived. The court ruled section 63.162(1) unconstitutional, reasoning that if the constitutional guarantee of a fair trial did not outweigh the media’s first amendment right of access to court proceedings, no rights implicated in the present case could counterbalance the first amendment....

...A petition for writ of certiorari was filed, the Fifth District Court of Appeal certified the question to be of great public importance and passed it directly to the Supreme Court without addressing the merits. We reverse the order of the circuit court and find section 63.162(1) constitutional. Section 63.162 provides, in pertinent part: Notwithstanding any other law concerning public hearings and records: (1) All hearings held in proceedings under this act shall be held in closed court without admittance of any person other than essential...

...rs of “real public or general concern,” and, by the admission of the newspaper’s own counsel, the impairment is minimal. For this reason, we reverse the order of the circuit court and direct that all proceedings be conducted in compliance with section 63.162(1), Florida Statutes (1983)....

...shall not be open to inspection by the public. All records shall be inspected only upon order of the court by persons deemed by the court to have a proper interest therein, except that, subject to the provisions of s. 63.162, a child and the parents of the child and their attorneys ....

...The birth parents asserted that this interest differs significantly from that of the public at large and thus justified the dependency court granting them access to the records. 4 Section 39.0132(3) contains a proviso that the parents’ right to access the dependency court records is subject to section 63.162 (pertaining to the confidentiality of adoption records), but application of that condition is not material to the resolution of the instant proceedings. 6  In finding that the birth parents est...

...ognized in Carlile v. Game & Fresh Water Fish Commission, 354 So.2d 362 (Fla.1978). HRS sought to have venue transferred to Leon County. In the order appealed from, the trial judge denied HRS’s motion. HRS asserts that Florida Statutes (1979), Section 63.162(2) which states in pertinent part “....

...Furthermore, the issue of whether or not to disclose information from the file is under the continuing authority of the court in which the judgment of adoption was entered as it is that court which has custody of the case file. That court is obviously the court referred to throughout Section 63.162 of the Florida Statutes....

...pellate level as a permissible party. However, since the proceeding is not brought against HRS, the right of a state agency to be sued in the county of its headquarters as discussed in the Carlile case, supra, is not applicable to a proceeding under Section 63.162(2)....

disclosure except as provided in section 63.162, Florida Statutes.3 Section 63.162, Florida Statutes, which is

...as they may be amended or renumbered: (i) Chapter 39 records relating to dependency matters, termination of parental rights, guardians ad litem, child abuse, neglect, and abandonment. §§_39.0132(3), 39.0132(4)(a), Fla. Stat. (ii) Adoption records. § 63.162, Fla....

...relating to dependency matters, termination of parontal righta, guardinns-ad-lttemv ehilé-abuse, neglect, and abandonment^ 39.0132(3), Fla. Stat.-(íf the document is filed within-a Chapter-39-ease, this-form-is-aotreqair-edA ===-Adoption records. § 63.162, Fkh-Statr(lf the document is filed within a Chapter 63-adoption case, this form-ls not required^ ..Social-Security, bank account-,- charge, debit, and credit card -numbers in court records: ⅞ U9.Q7-14(-l-)(-i-)-(j), (2)(a) (e), Fla....

ALTENBERND, Judge. The Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services appeals an order requiring it to disclose the names of P.A.G.’s adoptive parents to the child’s natural mother, M.G. The order was entered on a petition pursuant to section 63.162, Florida Statutes (1989). Although the mother intends to use the names in a pending habeas corpus proceeding, we conclude that the section 63.162 petition is a separate proceeding against HRS, and that the order is appealable as a final order. We reverse the order and remand for a new hearing because the order was entered prior to a full, evidentiary hearing to evaluate the factors described in section 63.162(l)(d)4, Florida Statutes (1989)....

...best legal minds. In light of the current posture of this case, however, we can avoid these issues today. For many reasons, the records of adoption proceedings are subject to strict rules of confidentiality. The statute permitting disclosure states: 63.162 Hearings and records in adoption proceedings; confidential nature.— [[Image here]] (d) No person shall disclose from the records the name arid identity of a natural parent, an adoptive parent, or an adoptee unless: 1....

...erests of the child and the adoptive parents. On remand, we encourage the circuit court to carefully consider the reason the information is sought and the existence of alternative methods to accomplish the desired result without disclosure. Sections 63.162(l)(d)4.a., ,162(l)(d)4.b., Fla.Stat....

...(i) Chapter 39 records relating to dependency matters, termination of parental rights, guardians ad litem, child abuse, neglect, and abandonment. §§ 39.0132(3), 39.0132(4)(a), Fla. Stat. (ii) Adoption records. § 63.162, Fla....

...As stated by the First District Court of Appeal: [T]he issue of whether or not to disclose information from the file is under the continuing authority of the court in which the judgment of adoption was entered as it is that court which has custody of the case file. That court is obviously the court referred to throughout section 63.162 of the Florida Statutes....

...She suggested that “more appropriate relief’ may be available by a pure bill of discovery. Petitioners have demonstrated entitlement to mandamus relief insofar as they seek to have the judge in the closed adoption case exercise jurisdiction over their request to inspect and copy records from the that case. See § 63.162(2), Fla....

...of Health, Office of Vital Statistics v. Adoption of Gilli, 746 So.2d 1172 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999); Dixon v. Melton, 515 So.2d 1309 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). We grant the petition and direct the judge in the closed adoption case to conduct proceedings pursuant to section 63.162 of the Florida Statutes on petitioners’ motion to inspect and copy records forthwith....

...file of her adopted son Michael Janik. Appellant and her late husband adopted Michael in Florida in 1967. To obtain the information, Appellant filed a July 7, 2023 Petition for Adoption Information in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, pursuant to section 63.162(4)(b) of the Florida Statutes. The statute provides for the disclosure of certain adoption information “upon order of the court for good cause shown.” § 63.162(4)(b), Fla. Stat. (2023). Section 63.162(4)(b) lists five criteria for determining whether good cause exists.1 Michael desired confidential information about his birth mother 1 The five criteria are as follows: 1....

...it refuses to release the requested information although good cause is shown[.]”). Our record indicates, however, that Appellant did not obtain a recommendation from the Florida Department of Children and Families2 (or another relevant entity) on the advisability of disclosure, as required by section 63.162(4)(b)5. (See infra n.1). Nor does it appear that Appellant gave notice of hearing to the department, as required by section 63.162(2), which provides: “In the case of an adoption not handled by the department or a child-placing agency licensed by the department, the department must be 5....

...The recommendation of the department, licensed child-placing agency, or professional that prepared the preliminary study and home investigation, or the department if no such study was prepared, concerning the advisability of disclosure. § 63.162(4)(b), Fla....

...Our record, including Appellant’s briefing, is sparse as to the circumstances of the 1967 adoption. 3 given notice of hearing and be permitted to present to the court a report on the advisability of disclosing or not disclosing information pertaining to the adoption.” § 63.162(2), Fla. Stat. (2023); see A.D. v. M.D.M., 920 So. 2d 857, 860 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006) (“Section 63.162(2) provides that confidential information may be released from the adoption file by court order....

...release of information.”). Because there is no evident basis in our record that the trial court abused its discretion in denying the petition, we affirm without prejudice to Appellant filing another petition consistent with the requirements of sections 63.162(2) and 63.162(4)(b). Affirmed. 4 

hold the status of an “adoptee” pursuant to section 63.162, Florida Statutes. The count which raised the

...ties who had involvement in the adoption. It is this latter case, which was voluntarily dismissed by A.Q., which has been sealed by the order challenged in this proceeding. The adoption file must of course remain confidential under the provisions of section 63.162, Florida Statutes....

...ress. Petitioner suggests, therefore, that closure of the file was error under the rationale of In re Guardianship of Cosio, 841 So.2d 693 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). We conclude that petitioner’s interpretation of the scope of protections provided for by section 63.162 is too narrow....

...) In re Patricia LAY, for Disclosure of Adoptive Records, Appellant. No. PP-238. District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District. April 14, 1980. Tommy E. McPherson, Pensacola, for Patricia Lay. SHAW, Judge. The narrow issue before us is whether § 63.162(4), Florida Statutes (1979), precludes disclosure of adoption records to persons other than the adoptive parents or the adopted child....

...The judge denied the petition based upon his determination that the petitioner desired the release of information from the adoption records of her brothers and that such disclosure was not authorized by law. In our view the relevant statute does not lend itself to so strict an interpretation. Section 63.162(4), Florida Statutes, provides: Except as authorized in writing by the adoptive parent or the adopted child, if 18 or more years of age, or upon order of the court for good cause shown in exceptional cases, no person shall disclose fro...

...The adoption entity objected to his access to the file, relying on the confidentiality provision of section 63.089(8), Florida Statutes, which provides: All papers and records pertaining to a petition to terminate parental rights pending adoption are related to the subsequent adoption of the minor and are subject to s. 63.162. Section 63.162(2) provides that the records are confidential subject to release by order of the court: All papers and records pertaining to the adoption, including the original birth certificate, whether part of the permanent record of the court or a...

...concerning the parent or adoptee. Another provision of the statute prohibits any person from disclosing the identity of the birth parent, adoptive parent, or adop-tee, except under specific circumstances including a court finding of good cause. See § 63.162(4), Fla. Stat. The father gave notice of his request for access to the file to the Department of Children and Families pursuant to section 63.162(2), even though this was a private adoption and the court required the Department to give advice. The Department took no position on the father’s motion. After several hearings, the trial court denied the motion, citing extensively to section 63.162(4) and its requirement for good cause when a person seeks disclosure of *577 the identity of the parties....

...ers filed in the proceeding to take away his rights. Respondent argues that the petitioner must establish good cause under the statute. In re Adoption of Rand, 347 So.2d 450 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977), requires good cause to access the documents even though section 63.162(2) does not include that requirement: The statutory requirement herein implicitly carries with it an- exercise of sound judicial discretion else the entry of such an order would be nothing more than an empty gesture hardly requiring the act of a court....

...ying information regarding the adoptive parents can be redacted. GROSS and CIKLIN, JJ„ concur. . Respondents claim that A.D. stands for the proposition that the father can be denied access to the file. In A.D. we required the father to comply with section 63.162(2) because he sought to obtain the identities of the adoptive parents long after the entry of the final judgment....