48-plaintiff lawsuit filed

A lawyer representing 48 plaintiffs is filing a lawsuit today claiming IU President Myles Brand purposely avoided state laws. \nAttorney Gojko Kasich of Crown Point, Ind., claims Brand and the board of trustees deliberately skirted Open Door Laws by meeting in two separate groups of four trustees before Brand made his decision to fire then-basketball coach Bob Knight. "Here's an institution that's supposed to pride itself on integrity, and they're intentionally intending to surpass a law so nobody knows what their vote is," Kasich said.\n"Somebody has to say enough is enough. These guys need to be shown that they don't have absolute power.\n"This is a case that tugs at the heartstrings of those who are concerned about how our University is being run."\nBloomington lawyer Roy Graham, an IU alumnus, will file in Monroe Circuit Court today for Kasich, who is unable to make the trip from Crown Point. The University will have 20 days to respond.\n"The public is perhaps unaware of the importance of this law," Graham said. "I personally believe that had the administration done the difficult thing of opening the meeting up, it might have saved the University some of the embarrassment." \nThe trustees met in two groups of four before the Sept. 9 football game to discuss Brand's decision to fire Knight. Brand said it was not necessary to hold a formal meeting because the board decided in May that it would take action if Knight failed to follow guidelines set forth at the time.\n"I wanted to brief the trustees, but most importantly I wanted to get their perception," Brand said Sept. 15. "I asked each of the trustees, 'What is your opinion?'" \nTrustee Cora Breckenridge said Friday that she did not want to comment.\nShe previously told the IDS, "There were deliberations of course. But it was not a meeting where we could do any voting because it was not an official meeting. There was not a quorum there, and that was done purposely by the president."\nJohn Walda, trustees president, said the board is not guilty of any wrongdoing.\n"It sounds to me to be pretty silly," said Walda, who was out of the country at the time of the meeting. "If a suit is filed, it doesn't have any substance. It's clear to anyone who knows the law, that what was done is in compliance with the law. \n"The legislature was careful to provide ways in which consultation can take place without having an official meeting. Everything the trustees and the president did are in compliance with the letter and spirit of law, therefore there is nothing to be embarrassed about."\nTrustee Dean Hertzler, a senior at IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis, stands behind Walda's comments.\n"The lawsuit is a feeble effort to try to gain some publicity and support for a lost cause," Hertzler said. "There was no meeting, there was no official action taken by the board of trustees, and therefore the lawsuit is out in left field.\n"What does this guy want? That every conversation between the trustees and the president be recorded?"\nKasich said he and the plaintiffs, mostly IU graduates and state residents, simply want the truth to come out.\n"The most we can get is a court making a decision that would void any decision made during any illegal meeting," Kasich said. "Then you get an injunction telling them not to do it in the future and agreement on attorney fees."\nKasich and the plaintiffs asked Anne O'Connor, Indiana's public access counselor, to file a legal opinion on the matter, which should come later this week.\n"It's not a violation of (the) letter of law, but it violates (the) spirit of the law," O'Connor said. "It hinders the stature (the board) has, in the eyes of those who watch what they're doing: alumni, students, watchers of IU. Citizens certainly have a right to observe how government works."\nThe University might avoid losing in court because of other legal aspects to the case. A quorum was never formed, and the discussions centered around a personnel issue, which the law allows to take place behind closed doors. Brand also had the authority to fire Knight at will, Knight's lawyer Russell Yates confirmed. \nBut Kasich is still confident that the case will not be dismissed.\n"There's a problem here, so let's let the Indiana courts take a look at it," Kasich said. "If the court approves this type routine, then every public body is going to skirt the Open Door Laws in the future"