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Univ pays $35K to bail from Foundation’s appeal of public records decision

That would be the University of New Mexico. Daniel Libit has the story here:

UNM COUGHS UP $35K TO EXIT RECORDS CASE

By Daniel Libit

The University of New Mexico continues to run up a tab for its anti-transparency past.

As part of a recent settlement agreement, the school has agreed to pay $35,000 of my legal fees in order to be dismissed as a defendant in a public records lawsuit I filed against the UNM Foundation.

You can read the full agreement here.

In May, Judge Nancy Franchini ruled in favor of my lawsuit, which contends that the UNM Foundation should be subject to the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act, even though it is established as a separate, non-profit organization. The Foundation, which is not a part to the settlement, is appealing Franchini’s ruling.

The suit was filed last year after the Foundation refused to turn over financial records and internal emails related to the WisePies naming-rights agreement for University Arena.

The University of New Mexico’s Board of Regents was named as a co-defendant, since it is the body that established and has ultimate control over the UNM Foundation. The lawsuit alleges that the Foundation “is an arm” of the University, as codified in a Memorandum of Agreement between the two entities.

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