File this under: "You can't win if you don't play....."

Bracewell-Giuliani keeps the fun coming... Fred Blanton had made a separate TXPIA request for the names and amounts of the donors to the NHMCCD Foundation that were lumped together on IRS form 990 for the tax years of 2003-2005. The foundation and it's lawyers again balked at providing the information and appealed it to the AG's office, but they screwed up. It would appear they sent all of their supporting documentation for withholding the information referencing AG cause number 277776 which was the cause number for the other TXPIA request noted below instead of 278812. As a result, legally they failed to respond to the AG's request for discovery, therefore the AG's office issued an order that required the information to be released or the Foundation must sue in state district court in Travis County. The order further defined the Foundation as not having the protection of an "institution of higher education" under section 61.003 of the Education Code (page 5). In my estimation, the Foundation technically has cause to sue Bracewell-Giuliani for malpractice. That said, if the previous ruling is a guide, the Foundation would have lost this one too despite Bracewell-Giuliani's obvious failure to represent the Foundation adequately. So suing for malpractice would only cause the Foundation to waste yet MORE money that is SUPPOSED to be used for scholarships and low interest loans to help low income students instead of paying lawyers to hide behind and to pay for awards banquets and travel and $2500 seafood dinners in Boston for the Chancellor.

Further thoughts on this order:

This order makes it clear that the Foundation is for purposes of open records a government entity, ALL of the Foundation. Therefore ALL of the Foundation's records are subject to TXPIA as if it were the college itself. Judging by some of the things that the Foundation has paid for over the years and some of the apparent relationships between donors, board members, and vendors, I'm willing to bet there are a lot of bodies buried in the Foundation's books. It's time we found a shovel.
Game, Set, Match.....