Rutgers sued over records tied to departures of two former top athletics officials

Transparency advocate seeks separation and severance agreements involving former athletic director and chief operating officer

A longtime government transparency advocate has sued Rutgers University, alleging the school improperly withheld records related to the departures of former Athletic Director Patrick Hobbs and former Chief Operating Officer Michael Szul.

The lawsuit, filed May 28 in Middlesex County Superior Court, seeks separation agreements, severance agreements, and resignation agreements documenting the terms under which Hobbs and Szul left the university.

Public records attorney Walter Luers of the firm Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann & Knopf filed the lawsuit on behalf of transparency advocate John Paff against Rutgers and Mary Ann Keys, the university’s records custodian. The complaint alleges that the university violated both New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act and the common law right of access by refusing to disclose the records.

Paff submitted two OPRA requests on April 4. One sought records related to Hobbs’ departure from Rutgers, while the other sought records concerning Szul’s separation from the university.

Rutgers denied access to the requested records, providing only a copy of a resignation letter from Hobbs to university President Jonathan Holloway, but declined to provide any additional records.

“The University has reviewed your request, and the University can neither confirm nor deny whether there are any responsive records for your request for a separation agreement. Personnel records are entirely exempt from OPRA with limited exceptions,” reads the university’s response.

Paff’s lawsuit argues that if separation agreements or similar records exist, they should be disclosed, with any exempt information redacted. The lawsuit cites prior New Jersey court rulings involving public access to settlement agreements and other records involving public entities.

In 2022, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that settlement agreements between public employers and workers are public records that must be made available on request, with appropriate redactions.

“Access to public records fosters transparency, accountability, and candor,” wrote Chief Justice Stuart Rabner in the court’s unanimous decision at the time.

“Plaintiff has a legitimate private interest and wholesome public interest in the requested records,” reads the lawsuit, which asks the court to order Rutgers to produce records responsive to the April 4 requests and award attorney’s fees.

A Rutgers spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.

The records request stems from the departures of Hobbs and Szul when Rutgers commissioned an independent investigation into the women’s gymnastics program at the school.

On Aug. 14, 2024, Hobbs received notice from Rutgers University’s outside counsel that the university was investigating allegations that he had engaged in a consensual relationship with gymnastics coach Umme Salim-Beasley that, if substantiated, would violate university policy. Two days later, Hobbs resigned as athletic director, citing medical reasons.

The following month, Rutgers hired the law firm Lowenstein Sandler LLP to conduct an independent investigation into the women’s gymnastics program. Hobbs declined to be interviewed for the investigation.

The report concluded that Hobbs had become inappropriately involved in the gymnastics program, exceeded the normal responsibilities of an athletic director, and attempted to influence internal investigations involving Salim-Beasley. In a letter responding to the firm’s request for an interview, Hobbs wrote that neither he nor other athletics department staff members ever became involved in investigations.

Following the investigation, Szul was removed from his oversight role with the gymnastics program. The report criticized Szul for providing what investigators described as “little to no oversight” and said gymnasts who raised concerns often found him inaccessible. Investigators also reported that Szul told Hobbs he did not want to continue serving as the team’s sport administrator because he wanted to focus on other responsibilities.

Rutgers University spent $705,000 on the external investigation.