Tuition hearing delayed, moved to Maricopa County

A superior court judge decided yesterday that the hearing for four UA students suing the Arizona Board of Regents over recent tuition hikes will be moved to Maricopa County.

The hearing, which was set for Nov. 17, could be delayed until January.

Judge John F. Kelly ruled that the state has the right to change the venue to Phoenix when a lawsuit is filed against it, because of a 1984 statute.

The state requested that the hearing be moved to Maricopa County for the convenience of the defendants.

"The action challenges the ability of the Arizona Board of Regents and the legislature, which are both Phoenix-based entities," said Bruce Skolnick, who is representing the state. "It is inconvenient for the plaintiff, but they were the ones that filed the lawsuit."

Paul Gattone, the attorney representing the four students ÷ John Kromko, Rachel Wilson, Adrian Duran and Sam Brown ÷ said that the shift in venue would be not only inconvenient, but also expensive.

"This is a matter of forum shopping to make it inconvenient for us," Gattone said. "The students have already had to pay more tuition and now they will have to put us up in Phoenix."

Gattone said it was imperative that the trial began as soon as possible.

"This puts us in a real difficult position because students have already paid one semester of tuition, and if the hearing is postponed they will have to pay a full year of increased tuition," he added. "It is incumbent to have this trial sooner than later."

The plaintiffs may now ask the assigned Maricopa County judge, who is yet to be determined, to return the hearing to Pima County.

"We will see who the assigned judge is, and then we will have to make the determination if we want it moved back to Tucson," Gattone said. "They just want us to jump through hoops."