NM Supreme Court orders foundation records be made public
Sep. 28—Records kept by foundations that fundraise and invest for New Mexico's public universities will be public records based on a court order issued this week, attorneys involved in the case said.
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Wednesday issued an order that lets stand previous decisions that said certain records held by the UNM Foundation and the Lobo Club — nonprofit organizations that raise money for the University of New Mexico and its athletics department — are not exempt from state Inspection of Public Records Act requests.
The order was part of two lawsuits that independent journalist Daniel Libit filed seeking records from the two entities.
"It has a tremendous impact," Libit said in a phone interview Thursday. "It opens up the foundation to the public."
Libit was seeking records related to naming rights at University Arena, or the Pit, where the UNM Lobos play basketball games. He was also seeking records connected with a golf trip to Scotland that was offered to university donors and donor information, said Nicholas Hart, Libit's attorney in the cases. The original lawsuit was filed in 2017 while UNM was under a different university president and athletics director.
Earlier this year, a jury found Paul Krebs, the former athletics director, not guilty of two counts of embezzlement in connection with the golfing trip to Scotland that ran into problems with poor attendance and financial difficulties.
Libit said he received the records while the lawsuits were being litigated.
The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, which had filed a brief supporting Libit's lawsuit, applauded the court ruling.
"I think it's encouraging. Trust and accountability are the cornerstone of democracy," said Melanie Majors, the executive director for NM FOG. "We're happy (the Supreme Court) stood by what was said before in lower court opinions."
Officials with the foundation said they intend to argue other aspects of the matter, such as the right to keep some donor records from the public's review.
"The UNM Foundation is, and always has been, dedicated to striking the proper balance between transparency and protection of donor privacy. While we are disappointed by the decision of the Supreme Court, we respect the court's decision," Gabe Gomez, a spokesman for the foundation, said in an email. "This case, however, is not over."
He said one of the consolidated lawsuits was remanded back to district court, where the foundation plans to argue a donor has a First Amendment right to remain anonymous.
Greg Williams, an Albuquerque attorney who filed a brief in the case on behalf of NM FOG, said the court's decision could impact the public's ability to review records from foundations that support public universities throughout the state.
"It appears going forward that the records of any university foundation in New Mexico are subject to IPRA," Williams said. "The public has significant interest in knowing how public entities are raising money and where it is being spent."
