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    FAYETTEVILLE -- A Freedom of Information lawsuit was filed Thursday against Ecclesia College seeking documents about state money the school received. Arkansas legislators gave nearly $700,000 of taxpayers' money to help the Springdale college buy almost 50 acres of land in Benton County. Ecclesia's receipt of the grant money entered the spotlight after former state Rep. Micah Neal, R-Springdale, pleaded guilty in federal court Jan. 4 to taking a pair of kickbacks worth $38,000 for helping two entities receive grants through the state's General Improvement Fund. The lawsuit, filed in Washington County Circuit Court on behalf of Jim Parsons of Bella Vista, contends private organizations that receive public money, engage in activities that are of public interest, carry on work that is intertwined with that of a government body or receive grants to promote economic development are subject to the requirements of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. "The purpose of filing this lawsuit is not to get anyone punished, rather, it is to draw attention to the need for Arkansas to have a law that will make nonprofit organizations that have an annual gross income of over $200,000 to be subject to the provisions of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act," Parsons said in an emailed statement. The complaint says Parsons first requested the documents via email Jan. 22. After receiving no response, he sent another request by certified mail Jan. 28 and the school "has failed or refused and continues to fail and refuse to produce such documents," the complaint says. Attorney Travis Story emailed Joey McCutchen, an attorney from Fort Smith who filed the complaint for Parsons, on Monday denying the records request. The lawsuit asks a judge to order Ecclesia to make the documents available. John Tull, the attorney who represents the Arkansas Press Association in Freedom of Information matters, said he thinks the public should be entitled to see what Ecclesia did with the money. "The complaint obviously identifies the most
    7 years ago by @prophe
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    President Trump’s postelection agreement to pay $25 million appeared to settle the fraud claims arising from his defunct for-profit education venture, Trump University. But a former student is now asking to opt out of the settlement, a move that, if permitted, could put the deal in jeopardy. Lawyers for the student, Sherri Simpson of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Monday asked a federal judge in San Diego to reject the settlement unless former students are given an opportunity to be excluded from the deal so they can sue Mr. Trump individually. If the judge, Gonzalo Curiel, decides that Ms. Simpson and potentially others should have that chance, legal experts say it could disrupt the settlement because Mr. Trump and his lawyers saw the deal as a way to resolve all of the claims, once and for all, to avoid a trial and distractions to his presidency. “If even one person could opt out of the settlement and force a trial, that might, in fact, crater the deal,” said Shaun Martin, a professor at the University of San Diego School of Law. “I’m sure Judge Curiel will be aware of that.” The agreement, announced in November, appeared to resolve years of hotly contested litigation, including two federal class-action cases in San Diego and a separate suit by Eric T. Schneiderman, the New York attorney general. Students maintained that they were cheated out of tuition through high-pressure sales tactics and misleading claims about what they would learn. At one point during the contentious case, Mr. Trump questioned Judge Curiel’s impartiality based on his Mexican heritage. Mr. Trump, who has rejected the claims and did not acknowledge fault in the settlement, posted on Twitter after the settlement announcement that he “did not have the time to go through a long but winning trial on Trump U.” Patrick Coughlin, a lawyer representing the class-action plaintiffs, said that it was a “terrific settlement” and that the objection seemed “politically motivated.” He said he feared that the objection could result in delays for students
    7 years ago by @prophe
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