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Iowa to pay newspaper’s legal fees in records case

Sports

August 7th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa will pay over $30,000 in a newspaper’s legal fees in a lawsuit over records from the University of Iowa related to its handling of a 2007 sexual assault incident involving two football players. The Iowa City Press-Citizen says the payment was approved on Monday by the State Appeal Board, which reviews and signs off on the state’s legal settlements. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled 4-3 last month that the university can withhold certain records requested by the Press-Citizen. The court found some records were protected by the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act, while others were available for disclosure. Because the case resulted in some records being released, the university didn’t challenge a lower court order that the state pay the newspaper’s attorney fees.