Va. Supreme Court rules for U-Va. in global warming FOIA case

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Va. Supreme Court rules for U-Va. in global warming FOIA case

By Tom Jackman April 17 at 11:44 am

Unpublished research by university scientists is exempt from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled Thursday, rejecting an attempt by skeptics of global warming to view the work of a prominent climate researcher during his years at the University of Virginia.

The ruling is the latest turn in the FOIA request filed in 2011 by Del. Robert Marshall (R-Prince William) and the American Tradition Institute to obtain research and e-mails of former U-Va. professor Michael Mann.

Mann left the university in 2005 and now works at Penn State University, where he published his book “The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars” about his theories on global warming and those who would deny it. Lawyers for U-Va. turned over about 1,000 documents to Marshall and ATI, led by former EPA attorney David Schnare, but withheld another 12,000 papers and e-mails, saying that work “of a propriety nature” was exempt under the state’s FOIA law.
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The case centered on how the General Assembly meant to define “proprietary.” Marshall and ATI argued that “proprietary” was intended to refer to matters that would affect competitive advantage and disclosures that would cause financial harm. The university cited a 1980 Supreme Court ruling of Green v. Lewis, which found that “A proprietary right is a right customarily associated with ownership, title, and possession.”

David Schnare

Virginia Supreme Court says FOIA does not cover faculty emails

by Owen Robinson | Apr 20 2014

ATI to not get Michael Mann climate research correspondence, contemplates repeal {he means "appeal"}

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled Thursday to uphold the decision to deny the American Tradition Institute access to the emails of Michael Mann, a climate scientist and former University professor, staying consistent with the Prince William County Circuit Court’s previous ruling.

The American Tradition Institute, now E&E Legal, said it has the right to receive the documents under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The Court, however, ruled this circumstance fell under one of FOIA’s exemptions, arguing the disclosure of Mann’s correspondences may bring to light some of the University’s research, thereby reducing its competitiveness.

Energy & Environment Legal Institute

Virginia's Highest Court Denies Access to Climate Scientist's Emails