A man is suing USC for not releasing documents before deadlines in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act.
Frank Heindel requested information regarding Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests USC has received recently and was not given the information before the required deadlines had passed, The State said.
The Freedom of Information Act gives the public access to public documents. Anyone can make a request for the release of documents from an institution or public official, who are required by South Carolina law to respond to the request within 10 business days and provide the information within 30 days.
According to The State, a university spokesman responded to the lawsuit, saying USC is handling a large number of FOIA requests at a time and working to meet its deadlines.
Heindel's FOIA requests were filed on Oct. 3, 2018 and Dec. 3, 2018. The documents he requested on Oct. 3 were released on Feb. 1, 2019, and he has not received the information he requested in December, meaning both deadlines were not met.
It is unknown why the FOIA requests were made.