The battle over the University of Louisville Board of Trustees won’t be resolved in court until October at the earliest.
Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd signed an order Friday that sets a timeline for the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Beshear against Gov. Matt Bevin. Shepherd will hear motions from both sides on Oct. 4, after allowing for several weeks of legal filings in which they can lay out their respective cases.
Beshear sued the governor in June after he dissolved the old 17-member U of L board and replaced it with a new 10-member panel. Beshear’s office has argued that Bevin had no authority to disband the school’s governing board, and that state law protects university trustees from termination without cause and due process.
The governor’s office has since argued that the overhaul was necessary to bring the board in alignment with a state law that requires the board to reflect the racial and political makeup in the state. The old board had too few minority members and too many Democrats.
Shepherd issued an injunction last month temporarily blocking the new board from meeting until the lawsuit is resolved.
Neither the old board nor the new board has met since Shepherd’s injunction. Acting U of L President Neville Pinto said in a press conference earlier this month that he’s keeping the chairs of both boards in the loop.
