An OU student journalist will refile his case against the university after the judge decided Monday to dismiss the petition, saying the plaintiffs named the wrong defendants.
Joey Stipek, film and media studies senior, went to a summary judgment hearing today for a lawsuit he filed against OU president David Boren and Rachel McCombs, former Open Records Office director.
The judge preceding over the hearing, Lori Walkley, decided to dismiss the petition, saying Stipek should have filed the suit against OU as whole and not Boren or McCombs.
Stipek filed the lawsuit against Boren and McCombs after his and other student journalists’ request for parking citation records was denied, saying those records were protected under the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA.
FERPA is a federal law meant to protect students’ educational records like transcripts or demographic information.
Shawnae Robey, council for the defense, said it was clear the suit was about the university since neither Boren nor McCombs work in the Open Records Office.
After the decision was announced, Stipek said he was still feeling optimistic about his case and will be back in court in around 30 days after he re-files the petition, even though he thinks the defense’s motion to dismiss was based on a technicality.
“I think it’s splitting hairs,” Stipek said.
Stipek plans to re-file his petition as soon as possible, this time naming OU instead of Boren and McCombs, he said.
“The law’s on our side. It doesn’t matter whose name on it,” Stipek said.
Once the petition is re-filed, a court will decide whether Stipek is entitled under Oklahoma’s Open Records act to receive the parking citation records, Stipek’s lawyer Nick Harrison said.
Stipek filed the lawsuit May 10, after failing to receive the parking citation records he requested during the spring 2013 semester for an article he planned to write for the Daily about preferential treatment for students and parking tickets.
He took the issue to court to inspire other journalists to follow up on open records and information, Stipek said.
“I didn’t file it for attention or anything. I filed it to inspire journalism students,” he said.
