After 39 months — and four months after a startling $4 million jury verdict — lawyers for Boise State University and Big City Coffee were back in court Monday.

Their protracted and acrimonious legal dispute shows no signs of coming to an end. The case is destined to go to Idaho Supreme Court. This all-but inevitable appeal will only extend the process.

No matter who wins, taxpayers are already on the hook for more than $1.5 million, at least.

So let’s bring the case up to date, and break down the bills.

The verdict

In September, an Ada County jury awarded $4 million to Big City owner Sarah Jo Fendley. Jurors sided with Fendley on her First Amendment claim — that Boise State administrators pushed the coffee shop off campus in October 2020, after student activists protested Fendley and her vocal support of law enforcement.

The verdict is on hold as the case continues to work its way through the courts. On Dec. 24, Boise State got a modest victory, amidst a pair of legal setbacks.

Ada County District Judge Cynthia Yee-Wallace rejected Boise State’s bid for a new trial, and a separate motion to nullify the jury’s verdict. Yee-Wallace sided with the jurors with one exception: She awarded $696,313 for business losses, down from the jury’s $1 million verdict. The reduced award covers two items: the $125,000 in “sunk costs” on a small business loan, and Big City’s projected $571,613 in revenue, had its Boise State library location remained open for a decade.

Big City’s attorneys signed off on this reduced award on Dec. 30.

The rest of the jury verdict — $1 million for lost reputation, $500,000 for mental and emotional stress, $500,000 for personal humiliation, and $1 million in punitive damages against former Boise State administrator Leslie Webb — remains intact.

If Boise State winds up paying this verdict, the balance of the money would come from the state’s Risk Management Program. But not necessarily all of it. As the Idaho Statesman reported this week, the insurance pool will not cover punitive damages against Webb.

State law effectively leaves Boise State on the hook. “Every governmental entity is subject to liability for money damages arising out of its negligent or otherwise wrongful acts or omissions and those of its employees acting within the course and scope of their employment or duties.”

Big City’s legal fees

An ongoing and unresolved point of contention, and one of the issues argued Monday before Yee-Wallace.

Big City is seeking close to $1.7 million in legal fees and costs, with more than $700,000 for its lead attorney, Michael Roe of Boise.

Big City’s case was bankrolled, in large part, by one of Idaho’s most prominent and prolific conservative political donors, Larry Williams of Boise. Williams — who attended much of the nine-day Big City jury trial late last summer — put in about $475,000 into legal fees. In a court filing, Big City attorneys say Williams would be reimbursed if the court awards fees.

In a filing Friday, Boise State’s attorneys asked Yee-Wallace to “substantially reduce” any fee award. But this issue probably won’t be settled until the entire case is resolved. Big City’s argument for fees hinges on the fact that it is now the prevailing party in court.

“Plaintiffs obtained substantial meaningful relief and vindicated their First Amendment rights,” Roe said in a Dec. 30 court filing.

Boise State’s legal fees

Boise State has outsourced its defense to private firms, with the Boise-based firm Duke Evett serving as lead counsel.

To date, Boise State has spent $1.575 million on Big City legal bills, said Lauren Griswold, the university’s chief communications and marketing officer. That’s a big increase from what Boise State reported in late September, in public records provided to Boise Dev and Idaho Education News. At that time, Boise State said its legal bills had totaled $989,000 through August — before the District Court trial.

Boise State is paying its legal bills through interest income, Griswold said. And the $1.575 million does not include bills covered through the state’s Risk Management Program.

It’s unclear — and impossible to predict — where the legal bills will end up, if Boise State appeals to the Supreme Court. Boise State won’t have an estimate until the District Court case is closed and “the scope of appealable issues has been finalized,” Griswold said Wednesday.

Is Boise State — or the state — good for the money?

Yes, that is actually being debated in Yee-Wallace’s court.

After the jury verdict, the state’s Risk Management Program and Boise State were ordered to post a $7.7 million “appeal bond.” It’s a large sum of money, but not an arbitrary number; it’s supposed to cover 136% of what the state could owe Big City and its attorneys.

A bond would force the state or the university to sock away money during the appeals process.

As with most matters in this case, Big City and Boise State are at odds; Big City wants the state to post a bond, while Boise State says a bond is “unwarranted and unnecessary.”

A key figure in this dispute is Faith Knowlton of the state Department of Administration’s insurance division.

In a court filing Friday, Boise State’s attorneys used a statement from Knowlton to bolster their case against a bond. “The state of Idaho is solvent.”

Roe, meanwhile, points to two other statements from Knowlton. She concedes that neither Boise State nor the state’s risk management program has a specific legislative appropriation to cover the settlement.

“Ms. Knowlton’s comments are not comforting,” Roe wrote in a Dec. 30 filing.

What’s next? More costly legal maneuvering

Yee-Wallace’s Dec. 24 flurry of motions rejected Boise State’s motions to overturn the jury verdict, or grant a new trial, but didn’t close the District Court case. Yee-Wallace will still have to decide on Big City’s legal fees and the question of the appeal bond — matters she took under advisement Monday.

Briefings and replies are due in District Court on Jan. 21 and Feb. 24.

Once the District Court case is closed, Boise State can go to the Idaho Supreme Court. Boise State has made no secret that it plans to appeal.

“We will continue to defend this case and vigorously pursue all available remedies,” Griswold said Tuesday.

Whether you think Boise State is stubbornly dragging out a case in hopes of outlasting Big City, or strenuously fighting a lawsuit heavy with political overtones, Boise State has bet heavily.

With $1.5 million in taxpayer dollars, so far.

And with millions of additional taxpayer dollars at the center of the table.

Kevin Richert writes a weekly analysis on education policy and education politics. Look for his stories each Thursday.