Utah Third District Court · No. 250908609

University of Utah v. Tanner

Dismissed by stipulation Judicial review

Forum: Utah Third District Court
Case number: No. 250908609
Decided: Feb 25, 2026
Outcome: Dismissed by stipulation
Underlying case: Closed. The office granted the appeal in part on September 22, 2025.
Requests at issue: Communications of the student manager and adviser of The Daily Utah Chronicle about the paper’s November 2023 editorial on Palestine, requested by Courtney Tanner of the Salt Lake Tribune
Conduct at issue: A records request the university answered with redactions the Government Records Office found broader than federal student-privacy law required
Underlying claims: Petition for judicial review of a Government Records Office decision under Utah Code 63G-2-404

What the court held

The office agreed the records were student education records protected by federal law, but found the university had redacted more than that law required. The director prepared his own version of the redactions and ordered those released.
The university argued the federal student-privacy law sits outside GRAMA entirely, so the office had no authority to redraw its redactions. The Attorney General's office represented the university.
The court never reached that question. The Tribune withdrew the records request outright on January 20, 2026 and answered that nothing was left to decide.
The case ended by stipulation on February 25, 2026, dismissed with prejudice, each side bearing its own costs and fees. No court ever ruled on the office's authority, and the records were never produced.

3 filings

Oct 22, 2025Petitioner

The petitionPetition for judicial review

Jan 20, 2026Respondent

AnswerAnswer of the Salt Lake Tribune

Feb 25, 2026Both parties

The orderStipulation of dismissal

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