Second lawsuit filed in State Historical Society’s Iowa City closure

IOWA CITY — Iowa’s Department of Administrative Services acted irrationally, illogically and capriciously — and abused its discretion — when it exonerated itself of any wrongdoing in closing, without warning or public discussion, the State Historical Society’s Iowa City research center, according to a new lawsuit filed by a private, nonprofit organization formed 43 years ago to preserve Iowa’s history.

The lawsuit marks the second filed in Johnson County District Court tied to the unexpected closure of the nearly 170-year-old research center that’s been housed in Iowa City’s Centennial Building for 50 years.

State Historical Society, Inc. — an Iowa City-based nonprofit created in 1983 as a separate entity from the State Historical Society and its board of trustees — filed suit Jan. 20 against the State Historical Society of Iowa and the Department of Administrative Services that oversees it.

In asking a judge to reverse the department’s finding that it did nothing wrong in closing the Iowa City research center, the nonprofit spelled out several ways the order was improper — saying it was based on an “erroneous interpretation of a provision of law” and findings “not supported by substantial evidence.”

The order, according to the nonprofit, is a product of “reasoning that is so illogical as to render it wholly irrational” — in which the agency did not consider “a relevant and important matter” that a “rational decision-maker in similar circumstances would have considered prior to taking that action.”

Not only was the closure not necessary or required by law, according to the lawsuit, the harm it’s causing “is so grossly disproportionate to the benefits accruing to the public interest from that action that it must necessarily be deemed to lack any foundation in rational agency policy.”

In sum, according to the nonprofit, the order is “unreasonable, arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion.”

‘No statutory obligation’

The Department of Administrative Services declaratory order in question came down Dec. 22 after a group of 17 donors, archivists, historians, and community members in September sued the department and those acting on its behalf over the surprise announcement in June that the Iowa City research center would close Dec. 31.

The plaintiffs argued “Iowa Code explicitly requires the State of Iowa to maintain history research centers in both Des Moines and Iowa City.” And a district court judge in October ordered the state to stop removing historical documents and materials from the research center pending an outcome in the case based on its likelihood to succeed.

But the judge at the time also agreed with the defense argument that the plaintiffs had leapfrogged the prescribed complaint process and thus ordered them to go back and seek a declaratory order from the Department of Administrative Services — the same entity they were suing.

  Buy Photo

So complainants in October filed a petition for a declaratory order, which the Department of Administrative Services provided Dec. 22 — finding the closure did not violate Iowa Code because “research center” is not defined in the law.

“DAS has broad legal authority to effectuate its current obligation to maintain a research center in Iowa City so long as its meets its legal obligation in a reasonable manner that is not inconsistent with the legislative mandate,” according to the DAS order, which found, “the department has no statutory obligation to maintain the existence of the Centennial Building; for its Iowa City research center to remain in the Centennial Building; or for the state to maintain ‘archives’ at the Centennial Building or any other location in Iowa City.”

At the same time, DAS proposed a bill in the new Legislative session that would remove the mandate for an Iowa City research center from Iowa Code. And DAS entered into a short-term agreement with the University of Iowa to make historical documents available by request on its campus — at least until the law could be changed.

‘Undisclosed, unsuitable, or otherwise inappropriate’

The group of 17 petitioners on Thursday filed a petition for judicial review — essentially asking a Johnson County District Court judge to declare the DAS order unlawful, vacate the order entirely, and find the state department lacks authority to close the Iowa City center.

“Petitioners further request that the court enjoin respondent from removing or dispersing collections from the Iowa City research library and order the return of any materials removed in preparation for closure,” according to the petition, which echoes many of the arguments outlined in the State Historical Society, Inc. lawsuit.

“Upon information and belief, the state has already begun moving the collections housed at the Centennial Building to undisclosed, unsuitable, or otherwise inappropriate locations, risking damage to the collections,” according to the nonprofit, which was formed as a result of litigation in the 1980s with the following purposes:

A “reversionary clause” included in the 1983 settlement that created the nonprofit held that State Historical Society, Inc. “has a right of reversion in the materials housed in or donated to the Centennial Building Archives prior to 1974.”

“Removal of the collections from the Iowa City research center is contrary (the nonprofit’s) right of reversion in the materials housed in or donated to the Centennial Building Archives prior to 1974,” according to the lawsuit that reiterated, “Items predating 1974 have already been removed from the Centennial Building, violating the reversionary clause.”

  Buy Photo

Although the Department of Administrative Services declined to even address the question of whether removing materials from Iowa City violates agreements and intentions of donors, the 17 petitioners who sued first argue in their new petition for court intervention that many collections would revert to donors or heirs if not maintained in Iowa City.

“(The state) has failed to identify, evaluate, or lawfully deaccession restricted materials, and the declaratory order issued by DAS expressly refuses to address whether the agency’s current actions comply with Iowa Code … or with donor agreements.”

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com