LSU has made headlines this year for its drawn-out, expensive struggle with local newspapers. But this is not the first time The Advocate has brought a public records suit against the University for records relating to a search to fill an administrative position.
The Advocate sued the University in 2001, when former head baseball coach Skip Bertman was named athletic director.
The University hired Atlanta-based private search firm Heidrick and Struggles to find candidates for the position vacated by Joe Dean, and refused to turn over documents relating to the search. The University’s legal counsel, led by attorney Phyllis Cancienne, said the documents were not subject to Louisiana public records law because the search was undertaken by a private company.
The case bears many similarities to this year’s lawsuit, when the University refused to make public documents acquired by the private firm J. William Funk and Associates in the search to fill the newly-created position of system president.
The University settled the 2001 case before any legal proceedings could begin, handing over the documents as part of a settlement agreement.
Loretta Mince, who represented the Advocate in both suits, said the University agreed in the 2001 settlement to cooperate with the newspaper in any future public records disputes.
Mince used this part of the agreement as ammunition against the University in the final hearing of this year’s lawsuit last week. Because the University had previously agreed to work with The Advocate in such a similar case, failure to cooperate in this case was proof of bad faith, Mince said.
District Court Judge Janice Clark agreed with Mince, hitting the University with the maximum penalty allowed by law.
The University produced the documents to Clark in September, though they will not be released to the public until the case has gone through the
appeals process.
University lawsuit similar to 2001 suit
By Gordon Brillon
October 3, 2013