Ohio court: Public market's rents are trade secret

CINCINNATI (AP) -- A popular public market in Cincinnati doesn't have to reveal how much its vendors pay for rent, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled on Wednesday.

In its 7-0 decision, the court found that vendor rents at Findlay Market are a trade secret and revealing them would put the market at a competitive disadvantage with other property managers.

The ruling stems from an appeal of a lawsuit filed by Kevin Luken, a Cincinnati attorney and the brother of one of Findlay Market's vendors, Mike Luken of Luken's Poultry, Fish, & Seafood.

Kevin Luken had sought lease agreements at the market in a public records request with the city, but rental amounts were blacked out in the city's response.

It's unclear why Luken was seeking the figures and he did not immediately return a call for comment Wednesday.

Opened in 1855, Findlay Market is Ohio's oldest continuously running public market and has helped revitalize Cincinnati's historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, just north of downtown and the site of the city's race riots in 2001.