Lawsuit to force OU to reveal hidden investigation moves forward

CLEVELAND COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) - There has been movement in a lawsuit against the OU Board of Regents. NonDoc, a nonprofit publication based in Oklahoma, sued the board after it refused to provide documents on investigations into alleged financial and sexual misconduct involving the university and its former president, David Boren.

During a hearing in Cleveland County on Tuesday, Judge Michael Tupper ruled he will review documents linked to the case in private to determine which ones will be relevant in court.

NonDoc initially asked the judge to go this route, which is called “in camera review.” The judge granted NonDoc’s request. Attorneys representing OU asked the judge to reconsider.

Judge Tupper said Tuesday he was moving forward with the original ruling, allowing him the opportunity to review statements and documents in private.

NonDoc Editor-in-Chief Tres Savage filed the lawsuit in 2021 after the publication requested reports on the investigation, which were denied by OU.

"I learned journalism at the University of Oklahoma,” said Savage. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be a plaintiff seeking public records from them."

Savage said he was now fighting for transparency from his alma mater.

"We're talking about significant financial misconduct and significant alleged sexual misconduct," said Savage. “The public doesn’t get any access to that. I think that is the concern.”

Savage has claimed information uncovered during investigations into the university and Boren should be made public. He said it violates the Open Records Act.

"What is the standard by which a public body can claim an exemption to the Open Records Act? Can they simply hire a private attorney and write confidential at the top of the document? And thus, it's not available for public disclosure or knowledge?" said Savage.

Attorneys for OU Board of Regents said in court Tuesday that those documents were confidential and exempt from the law.  

Judge Tupper ruled that board members had 30 days to hire attorneys and 60 days thereafter to notify witnesses, whose statements were included in reports in the case, that those documents will be given to the judge.

The hearing revealed that there were more than 60 witnesses, one of them being Jess Eddy, a former teaching assistant for Boren and the first victim to go public.

"Justice is big. We all have the right to know what happened with our tax dollars and our flagship public institution for a long time," said Eddy.

KFOR reached out to the OU Board of Regents for comment on the judge’s decision. They responded saying “it’s not the practice of the university to comment on pending litigation.”