Last updated on 05/29/2015
I’ve always said that the UO administration could kill this blog any time they wanted to, with a modicum of honesty, transparency, and competence. And frankly, after 6 years of fecund muckraking, I’m more than ready to call it quits. The sooner the better.
But that day is not today. Today, Dave Hubin and Doug Park’s public records office is hiding records about building inspections of cracks in the concrete foundations of UO dorms – from a UO student reporter. From the PR log here:
Global Scholars Hall
Requester: Friedman, Gordon
Organization: Ethos Magazine
Initial Request Date: 05/27/2015
Status: Records Exempt From Disclosure 05/27/2015
Request Completion Date: 05/27/2015
I’d like to request any lawsuits or litigation related materials regarding the firm or firms that oversaw design or construction of the Global Scholars Hall complex. In addition I’d like to request any documents or materials related to the inspection of the Global Scholars Hall complex and the damages/cracks in its walls and ceilings, and the stresses (“deflection”) of its concrete foundation.
You bastards really aren’t going to make this easy for me, are you?
Don’t stop the fight now, Bill! We need UOM more than ever. Keep shining the light in all the dark corners the admin doesn’t want seen.
How poetically appropriate. Cracks in the foundation indeed. Keep ’em flying, Bill!
Gotta say, DP appears to have got it right this time.
Ethos magazine seeks two kinds of documents: 1) lawsuits or litigation-related matters; and, 2) documents related to inspections of the Global Scholars Hall complex’s concrete.
As to the first, the Public Records Act exempts from disclosure documents “pertaining to litigation to which the public body is a party if the complaint has been filed, or if the complaint has not been filed, if the public body shows that such litigation is reasonably likely to occur,” unless the “public interest requires disclosure.” Perhaps Ethos can cross that bar, but I doubt it has even tried.
As to the second, state discovery law exempts from discovery expert witness identities, opinions, and the documents on which they are based. The only way that an expert witness’ opinion becomes known is if the party choses to call the witness to testify at trial. The Public Records Act cannot be used as a backdoor to identify a party’s expert witness documents are not available through civil discovery.
If Ethos wants to find out if a complaint has been filed, it need only walk down to the law school and search Lexis or Pacer. Free for students, too!
State law may allow these exemptions – it allows all sorts – but it does not prohibit UO from doing the smart thing and the right thing and giving these documents to the student.
Andy, you’re right about expert witnesses and discovery in Oregon, but I think you are mistaken about a blanket exemption about any communication from the expert. I believe that any communications by the (“unknown”) expert with parties other than the attorney are discoverable and potentially subject to public records law.
If Ethos can figure out who might have given expert opinions to the university, those opinions might not be exempt if they were communicated to someone other than the GC. Please correct me if I am wrong.
You’re probably wrong. The Public Records Act exempts from disclosure documents “pertaining to litigation,” regardless of who is on the document’s cc list. It will be up to the UO to demonstrate to Lane County’s district attorney that the withheld documents “pertain” to litigation, if Ethos chooses to appeal the claimed exemption.
The “PR Log” suggests that Ethos chose to tack into the law’s wind by requesting “litigation related materials.” Better would have been to ask for documents regarding the Global Scholars Hall complex’s foundation without mentioning litigation. Live and learn — all part of a well-rounded UO education.
In 2001, when I was Senate President, then President Frohnmayer told me there were “potential structural problems” with some of the dorms. The dorms were also outdated and a negative recruiting tool. For all these reasons, the Senate Leadership and the Administration jointly agreed that rebuilding the dorms would be the top priority of the University. The plan was to replace/rebuild/upgrade one old dorm each year until the job was completed. In the intervening years, several new dorms have been constructed, i.e., the Living Learning Center and the Global Scholars Hall, however the old dorms have not been touched. The reason I was given for not moving forward with the plan was that there was no more bond money available because new athletic buildings had used up nearly all of our bonding authority. Just another example, and a scary one at that, of very misplaced priorities. Do we need a small earthquake to cause bodily injury or worse to our students before the administration will act?
None of the UO’s residence halls is identified as a “high priority” for a seismic vulnerability study in this 2006 “Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (see map on page 7). But, take the report with a grain of salt as it shows the UO’s volcanologists work in a “high priority” building — I smell a conflict of interest! :)
Bill,
Thank you for taking note of my records request and its denial. The wording of the request was, I believe, unwise and I may submit a new request that I hope will not be denied. If denials continue I will consult attorneys and decide whether to take the requests to attorney general Rosenblum.
I decided to take this story to the Daily Emerald instead of publishing it through Ethos because of its newsworthiness (Ethos publishes quarterly).
I will continue to investigate this story as it progresses. I hope to find out more about GSH construction and the claims regarding negligence, including investigating other projects Hoffman, ZGF, and Catena have worked on around campus, which are numerous (Hatfield-Dowlin, Jaqua, Matt Knight). Additionally, I want to find out more about living GSH and the conditions there.
Thanks again,
Gordon Friedman
Editor in Chief, Ethos
[email protected]
Hi Gordon, appeals of UO denials now go to the Lane County DA’s office, not the DOJ. Good luck, and let me know if I can do anything to help. BTW, students have been telling me about these cracks all year, I’m mystified as to why UO denied your request. Maybe there’s something very interesting here, as is often the case.
The article regarding the lawsuit can be seen in today’s print edition and is online here: http://www.dailyemerald.com/2015/05/27/university-oregon-global-scholars-hall-lawsuit/