Florida State University Friday filed suit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association. FSU itself now seeks release of original documents from an ongoing appeal of sanctions levied against academic-cheating infractions.
The university and NCAA are both among defendants in an open-records lawsuit filed in June by news organizations, including the Tallahassee Democrat and all of Gannett Co. Inc's Florida newspapers and television station.
FSU admits the documents are public records in its Friday filing in Leon County Circuit Court. The NCAA has said in court that the documents are not public records, that it is not the custodian of the documents and that its own bylaws require the information be kept secret.
"In defiance of Florida law, the NCAA has refused to comply with the repeated requests pursuant to Florida's Public Records Act -- including requests from the University -- to produce those records and make them available to the public," the crossclaim says.
The NCAA only allowed FSU officials to view documents in its sanctions appeal on a secure, read-only computer.
"It's a very pleasant surprise," said Rachel Fugate, attorney for the media plaintiffs in the open-records lawsuit. "When the public agency itself files a cross-claim . . . it certainly bolsters the argument that these are public records and they've got to be turned over.
"The University has consistently favored and advocated full public access to the documents located on the CAA's secure custodial website," FSU's crossclaims says.
It was only to keep alive its appeal alive, under NCAA rules, that FSU agreed to the secrecy requirements of the NCAA. Had it not done so, it would have lost a chance to "protect its essential interests and thos of its innocent coaches and student-athletes," the court filing said.
Mike Cramer, FSU's deputy general counsel, said the university's legal filings speak for themselves and declined further comment beyond a release sent out by FSU.
They're not done...
((HT: CBSSports))
Florida State is back in court -- suing the NCAA.The school said Friday its wants the NCAA to pay its legal fees and other costs incurred in a suit filed against the university and the athletic governing body for failing to comply with Florida's public records law.
General counsel Betty Steffen said it has been technically impossible for the school to make records in the case public because an NCAA website prohibits downloading or printing.
The lawsuit to force the release of documents in the university's appeal of some NCAA sanctions in an academic cheating case is scheduled for a two-day hearing beginning Aug. 5.
The Associated Press and other newspaper and broadcast companies are suing the school and NCAA.
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