STARKVILLE — Mississippi State and baseball coach John Cohen filed a motion for protective order Friday regarding an information request by former player Forrest Moore.
Moore, who is suing MSU and Cohen for medical negligence and improperly interfering with his financial aid, submitted a discovery request to MSU in May and another to Cohen in June seeking financial aid documents and medical records of other student athletes.
On Friday, MSU responded with the motion for protective order refusing to disclose such documents based on the “purpose of safeguarding, irrelevant, private, and confidential information” to students other than Moore.
MSU cites the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, which prohibits educational institutions from disclosing their students” education records to third parties (unless it”s names, addresses, majors or degrees awarded.)
Moore”s attorney, J. Douglas Foster, is seeking information about other players” injuries, surgeries, dates of procedures, and the doctors involved. FERPA prohibits the disclosure of such information.
The motion for protective order states, “Moore”s claims do not depend upon or require any evidence regarding Moore”s own medical condition, much less the medical conditions of other students who are not parties to this case.”
Moore further requests MSU admit it didn”t provide written notice by July 1, 2010, of the termination of Moore”s financial aid for the 2009-10 academic year. MSU has denied this claim in its motion to dismiss Moore”s complaint in Friday”s MPO, stating it provided Moore financial aid for the 2009-10 school year.
The motion for protective order states Cohen must file his response to Foster”s discovery requests on or before July 18.
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