KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — WBIR is suing the University of Tennessee, asking a judge to make public, among other things, operating agreements the institution is part of in administering the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Anchor John Becker is lead plaintiff in the complaint filed March 14 in Knox County Chancery Court. Attorney Paul McAdoo of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press prepared the document on WBIR's behalf.
The lawsuit stems from WBIR's years long unsuccessful efforts to learn the top 10 salaries of leaders at ORNL.
Becker and WBIR have for more than 18 months sought copies from UT of, among other things, the unique operating agreements signed by the university and the Battelle Memorial Institute to run the national lab, which conducts research on such subjects as neutron science and produces isotopes for medicine and industry.
WBIR also had asked for all records received by a number of key UT administrators including President Randy Boyd and David Miller from ORNL or UT Battelle from January 2022 to the present.
The UT System issued a statement Monday to WBIR.
It reads: "The University of Tennessee System acknowledges the legal proceedings initiated by WBIR in relation to a series of open records requests. We value the strong relationship we have built with WBIR over the years and have made numerous good faith attempts to legally satisfy the information requests, which include multiple correspondences (including some phone conversations) with John Becker and/or John North, aiming to precisely understand and address their investigative focus. Despite these good faith interactions, it is with disappointment that we note the shift toward litigation rather than continued collaborative efforts towards a resolution. While we cannot comment specifically on matters of litigation, we remain dedicated to transparency within the framework of the law, and we continue to work diligently to facilitate open communication in respect of our shared commitment to serve the public interest."
Knox County Chancellor John Weaver will hear the case.
ORNL, a federal institution, employs more than 6,000 people including engineers and scientists. It has an annual budget of more than $2.6 billion. Its history dates to the Manhattan Project in the early 1940s.
UT and the non-profit, Ohio-based institute signed paperwork on the Tennessee limited liability company in 1999 and filed an amended LLC operating agreement in 2007. Each has a 50 percent interest in the contract.
WBIR argues the agreements are public under Tennessee public records laws. As it seeks to learn top salaries for ORNL personnel, WBIR further argues it's of public interest to see the full, unredacted agreements.
In April 2023, at WBIR's request, UT made a foot-high stack of records available for inspection. They didn't include the operating agreements.
UT said at the time that some records were being withheld because they were in draft form, contained trade secrets, were exempt under federal law and because UT didn't consider them to be open because "the recipient received them in their capacity other than their university employment such as their capacity as a UT Battelle board member," among other reasons.
UT followed up in August by providing WBIR with redacted copies of the 1999 agreement and the 2007 amended agreement.
Redacted areas of the original document include sections under the "Management" and "Governors" section; the executive group; and allocation of net profits and net losses, book allocation and tax allocations.
Redacted areas of the amended document include part of the governance management section, and capital accounts and profit and loss distributions.
WBIR argues what it seeks is public because the records "were made or received by the university and its personnel pursuant to law or ordinance in connection with the transaction of the university's official business."
WBIR is seeking an order from Weaver directing UT to submit unredacted copies of the UT-Battelle agreements under seal for review by the court "with an explanation regarding what exemptions are being asserted for which records and/or redactions."
The station also is asking Weaver to, among other things, declare that the records it seeks are public under state law and to order UT to provide them.
