Athletics program sued for public records

[2mint]

Yes, pro bono legal representation means Mr. Libit and his editors are not investing nearly the amount of resources (aka money) they would be investing if they were actually footing the bill for a law firm. I have no doubt the Yale MFIA Clinic will aggressively pursue this case with their eager law students and faculty dedicated to the enforcement of the FOIA. And pure speculation, but I’m sure a few at Yale may not be the most ardent supporters of the Academy in general. Needless to say, the amount of investment ($) spent by AWPAA will be significantly more (unless a few grads offer their services pro bono) than that spent by Mr. Libit and Sportico.

[ArmyRedLeg]

USMA now has an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) from the Southern District of New York (SDNY) representing them. SDNY/AUSA has requested an additional month to respond to the complaint:

This Office represents the United States Military Academy (the “USMA” or the
“Government”) in this action brought by Plaintiff Daniel Libit under the Freedom of Information
Act (“FOIA”). I write respectfully to request a 30-day extension of time for the Government to
respond to the Complaint, from March 17, 2023, to Monday, April 17, 2023. The reason for this
request is that I need additional time to discuss Plaintiff’s Complaint with the USMA and to
prepare the USMA’s response to the Complaint. This is the Government’s first request for an
extension to respond to the Complaint. Plaintiff does not object to this request.

For those wondering, the SDNY is run by Damian Williams, who is a Joe Biden / Chuck Schumer appointee.

[RABBLE]

They are always on the academies for just about anything. We are at such a disadvantage with the civilian schools, it is unbelievable. Then you always have somebody digging up as much as they can to knock us down for the publicity and self-adulation. It's been that way since I became a fan of West Point about as far back as I can even remember, starting with the complaint about Army Football's "easy" schedules in the 1940's. On and on.

[ArmyRedLeg]

The journalist and WP Athletics Association are negotiating - not a great sign for Army's position here. Looks like the Board of Directors needs to sign off on the risk assessment before agreeing to anything:

parties continue to be actively engaged in discussions about a potential resolution of this matter and the Defendants need additional time to determine their position. In particular, Defendant Army West Point Athletic Association (“AWPAA”) needs to confer with its Board of Directors to determine its position, but it will not be able to do so until its next Board meeting on June 8 and June 9. The requested extension would allow AWPAA to advise all parties of its position by June 15 and would allow the parties to meet and confer about a case management schedule, as necessary.

I think this is a sign the journalist will at least get some portion of his requests and that a new prescident on transparency will emerge.

[2mint]

The journalist and WP Athletics Association are negotiating - not a great sign for Army's position here.

Not sure where this hot take is coming from. Parties negotiate settlements all of the time to avoid the cost of litigation. They may have an ironclad legal argument but prefer not to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal expense (plus internal costs) to prove the point.

[ArmyRedLeg]

Not sure where this hot take is coming from.

Journalist is represented pro-bono by Yale MFIA. Their mission is in part "dedicated to increasing government transparency."

USMA is represented by the US government - so that is the tax payer.

West Point Athletic Association is represented by a 2013 Albany Law grad and partner for Messner Reaves. This firm is run by Corky Messner - USMA class of '79. Draw your own conclusions there.

Parties negotiate settlements all of the time to avoid the cost of litigation. They may have an ironclad legal argument but prefer not to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal expense (plus internal costs) to prove the point.

I agree this does happen all the time, but given the parties in question here, I don't think time/money is the driving factor.

[Tanker79]

West Point Athletic Association is represented by a 2013 Albany Law grad and partner for Messner Reaves. This firm is run by Corky Reaves - USMA class of '79. Draw your own conclusions there.

That would be Corky Messner, not Reaves.

[ArmyRedLeg]

That would be Corky Messner, not Reaves.

Thanks - corrected that.