Trial for lawsuit against University of Missouri over records costs starts Tuesday

The trial for a lawsuit filed by the Beagle Freedom Project, a group of animal rights and rescue activists, against the University of Missouri started Tuesday.

The lawsuit filed in 2016 claims the university violated the state’s Sunshine Law when it asked the Beagle Freedom Project for more than $82,000 to process and release records related to the treatment of 179 dogs and cats during experiments between January 2014 and December 2015.

According to the complaint filed by the organization, the University of Missouri responded to the records requests by demanding $400-$700 for photocopies of documents related to one animal and $125-per-hour compensation for the copy work.

During the trial, the university argued the $82,000 was reasonable because not all the records Beagle Freedom Project requested were readily available and would take time to search for. The university also said it submitted a revised fee estimate of $8,900 in June after learning Beagle Freedom Project was not requesting as much information as it once did.

The two-day bench trial continues at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Boone County Courthouse.

Check back later for updates from the trial.