Idaho ruling helps clear the way for a controversial University of Phoenix acquisition

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
Associated Press

The University of Idaho says a judge’s ruling helps it move closer to its planned affiliation with for-profit University of Phoenix in a nearly $700 million deal. The state attorney general characterizes it as a secret backroom deal and sued. In dismissing the lawsuit, an Idaho judge says Attorney General Raúl Labrador failed to prove the Board of Regents violated Idaho’s Open Meetings Law when considering the transaction. Labrador says the board kept details of the deal secret until the last moment and decided to purchase the University of Phoenix despite fines for deceptive and unfair practices.