Michigan Appeals Court Rules Against Newspaper

In a 2-1 ruling, the Michigan Court of Appeals has held that Eastern Michigan University does not have to release a letter dealing with the construction of the university President's new house. Using MCL 15.243, the Ann Arbor News had sought a copy of the letter discussing the cost of the building; when the school denied it, the paper filed a motion to compel disclosure of the letter. The Court of Appeals upheld the trial court's denial of the request, ruling that the trial court was within its discretion to rule that, among other things, the material in the letter was of a nature that fell within the "frank communications" exception of the state FOIA statute. The case is Herald Co. v. Eastern Michigan University.