U.S. v. Miami University, No. C-2-98-0097.

• Citation: 91 F.Supp.2d 1132
• Decision Date: 20 March 2000
• Docket Number: No. C-2-98-0097.
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. THE MIAMI UNIVERSITY, and The Ohio State University, Defendants, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, Intervenor-Defendant.
• Court: United States District Courts. 6th Circuit. United States District Courts. 6th Circuit. Southern District of Ohio

91 F.Supp.2d 1132

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. THE MIAMI UNIVERSITY, and The Ohio State University, Defendants, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, Intervenor-Defendant.

No. C-2-98-0097.

United States District Court, S.D. Ohio, Eastern Division.

March 20, 2000.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Deborah F. Sanders, United States Attorney's Office, Columbus, OH, Frank W. Hunger, Assistant Attorney General Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.

Gerald Linden Draper, Roetzel & Andress, Columbus, OH, Adam Edward Scurti, King Hargrave Scurti & Jack, Steubenville, OH, Edward N. Stoner, II, Reed, Smith, Shaw & McClay, Pittsburgh, PA, for Kenneth A. Zirm, Ohio Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General, Marc David Mezibov, Sirkin Pinales Mezibov & Schwartz, Ted L. Wills, Cincinnati, OH, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

GEORGE C. SMITH, District Judge.

I. Introduction

Plaintiff, United States of America ("United States"), commenced this action on January 22, 1998, suing on its own behalf and on behalf of the United States Department of Education ("Department"). The Complaint alleges that Defendants, The Miami University and The Ohio State University ("Defendants"), violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA"), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, by releasing student disciplinary records containing personally identifiable information without the prior consent of the students or their parents. Plaintiff also claims that Defendants have a policy or practice of releasing such records and that Defendants intend to continue releasing such records in the future. Plaintiff sought relief in the form of a declaratory judgment, and preliminary and permanent injunctions.

On February 12, 1998, the Court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting Defendants from releasing student disciplinary records that contain "personally identifiable information," except as otherwise expressly permitted under FERPA. Subsequently, the Court permitted The Chronicle of Higher Education ("Intervenor" or "The Chronicle"), a national weekly newspaper covering issues regarding higher education, to intervene as a defendant in this action.

Since intervening, The Chronicle has filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and a motion for an order of procedure establishing a period for discovery and permitting an evidentiary hearing on the merits. In response, Plaintiff has moved for summary judgment and a permanent injunction.

For the reasons that follow, The Chronicle's Motion to Dismiss and its Motion for an Order of Procedure are denied. Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment is granted.

II. Facts

The circumstances giving rise to the instant case find their genesis in State ex. rel. The Miami Student v. Miami University, 79 Ohio St.3d 168, 680 N.E.2d 956 (1997), an Ohio Supreme Court decision addressing, inter alia, the scope of the term "education records" under FERPA. In Miami University, the university student newspaper, The Miami Student, requested records of Miami University's student disciplinary proceedings. Miami University initially refused to release the records, and subsequently, the newspaper made a formal request under the Ohio Public Records Act, Ohio Rev.Code § 149.43. See id. at 957.

In April 1996, Miami University released redacted copies of some of its disciplinary records. Relying on FERPA, it deleted the name, sex and age of the accused students, as well as the date, time and location of the incidents giving rise to the disciplinary charges. See id. The student newspaper was not satisfied with the redacted copies. It believed that the Ohio Public Records Act required Miami University to provide it with complete copies of the disciplinary records, with only names and social security numbers or student identification numbers redacted. See id. Consequently, the newspaper filed an original mandamus action in the Ohio Supreme Court, seeking a writ compelling the university to disclose the disputed records pursuant to the Ohio Public Records Act. See id.

The Ohio Supreme Court issued its decision on July 9, 1997, granting a writ of mandamus compelling the university to disclose its student disciplinary records. See id. at 960.¹ In reaching this result, the court held that FERPA did not apply to student disciplinary records. See id. at 959. Specifically, the court concluded that student disciplinary records are not "education records" as defined in FERPA because disciplinary records "do not contain educationally related information, such as grades or other academic data, and are unrelated to academic performance, financial aid, or scholastic performance." Id. at 958-59.²

Soon after the Ohio Supreme Court issued its decision, Defendants received requests from The Chronicle to release student disciplinary records for the years 1995 and 1996, with no redactions. (Doc. 7 and Ex. A attached thereto; May 19, 1998, Appendix of Intervenor, Doc. No. 6). On July 21, 1997, after receiving The Chronicle's request, Miami University notified the Department of Education that it "may be unable to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act due to a potential conflict with state law[,]" namely the Ohio Public Records Act. The Department responded to Miami University by letter dated August 7, 1997. The letter stated that the Department believed that student disciplinary records are "education records" as defined by FERPA, and thus, it would be a violation of federal law for Miami University to release student disciplinary records or any personally identifiable information contained therein without the student's prior consent. (Doc. 3 and Ex. A attached thereto).

On September 5, 1997, general counsel for Miami University informed the Department that it would appeal the Ohio Supreme Court's decision in Miami University to the United States Supreme Court. (Compl. ¶ 10; Doc. 3 and Ex. A attached thereto). The United States Supreme Court, however, denied the petition for certiorari on December 8, 1997. See 522 U.S. 1022, 118 S.Ct. 616, 139 L.Ed.2d 502 (1997). This prompted Miami University to accommodate The Chronicle's previous request for disciplinary records by releasing such records for the months of November 1995 and November 1996, redacting only student social security numbers. (Doc. 3 and Ex. A attached thereto). Moreover, Miami University informed the Department that it intended to provide The Chronicle with copies of the remainder of its student disciplinary records from 1995 and 1996. (Doc. 3 and Ex. A attached thereto).

On January 7, 1998, the Department learned from counsel for The Ohio State University that The Chronicle also had requested student disciplinary records from OSU, and that on December 22, 1997, OSU had released its student disciplinary records from November 1995 and November 1996. Furthermore, on January 16, 1998, OSU informed the Department that The Chronicle had requested the remainder of its disciplinary records from 1995 and 1996, and that OSU intended to comply with that request. (Id.).

Consequently, the Department filed the instant action and a motion for a preliminary injunction on January 23, 1998. At a conference regarding the motion for a preliminary injunction, Plaintiff and Defendants agreed that the facts in this case are not in dispute, and that an evidentiary hearing is not required. Furthermore, during a telephonic status conference with the parties, Defendants' counsel indicated that unless enjoined, Defendants intended to continue to release their respective disciplinary records. On, February 12, 1998, the Court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the release of student disciplinary records and personally identifiable information contained therein, except as expressly permitted under FERPA. That injunction is still in force.

III. Motion to Dismiss

As an initial matter, The Chronicle moves this Court to dismiss the instant action pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. More specifically, it argues that the United States lacks standing to bring this action.

A. Rule 12(b)(1) Standard

For purposes of ruling on a motion to dismiss for lack of standing pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1), the court must view the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and must accept as true all material allegations in the complaint. See Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 501, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975). "Plaintiffs, however, bear the burden of persuading the court that it has subject matter jurisdiction." American Fed. of Govt. Employees v. Clinton, 180 F.3d 727, 729 (6th Cir.1999).

B. Standing

A party seeking relief in federal court must have standing to sue in order for the federal court to have jurisdiction over the matter. See Kardules v. Columbus, 95 F.3d 1335, 1346 (6th Cir.1996). The concept of standing derives from the mandate in Article III of the United States Constitution that federal courts adjudicate only "cases" or "controversies". See U.S. Const. Art. III, § 2, cl. 1; Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737, 750-51, 104 S.Ct. 3315, 82 L.Ed.2d 556 (1984). Standing involves both constitutional and prudential dimensions. See Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. at 498, 95 S.Ct. 2197.

From a constitutional standpoint, a plaintiff must satisfy, at a minimum, three requirements in order to establish standing:

First, the Plaintiff must have suffered an "injury in fact"—an invasion of a legally protected interest which is (a) concrete and particularized, and (b) "actual or imminent, not `conjectural' or `hypothetical[.]'" Second, there must be a causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of — the injury has to be "fairly ... trace[able] to the challenged action of the defendant, and not ... th[e] result [of] the independent action of some third party not before the court." Third, it must be "likely," as opposed to merely "speculative,"...