- Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has sued the Atlantic Coast Conference, alleging that the ACC is violating the state’s Public Records Act by denying Florida State University access to media rights contracts, which the AG claims are public records and critical to FSU’s fight to leave the ACC and avoid the threatened imposition of hundreds of millions of dollars in withdrawal penalties.
- The complaint seeks to enforce ACC’s compliance with the Public Records Act, asserting that the ACC should be ordered to produce the documents in response to the AG’s request because the contracts are public records; ACC has designated itself the exclusive custodian of these contracts and has unilaterally restricted access; and the ACC’s delay in making records available to the point of forcing the AG to file an enforcement action is by itself tantamount to an unlawful refusal to provide public records in violation of the Act.
- Relief sought includes that the court hold an accelerated hearing and enter findings that the contracts are public records and that ACC has unlawfully refused to allow FSU access in violation of the Public Records Act. The complaint also seeks an order directing ACC to immediately provide the requested records to the AG and to pay the AG’s reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses incurred in this action.