Court Orders UW to Pay PETA $540,000 in Open Records Lawsuit

For Immediate Release:
October 14, 2022

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Foundation Director of Litigation Asher Smith regarding the decision by the King County Superior Court, filed today, awarding PETA $539,902.45 in fees and penalties in its public records lawsuit against the University of Washington (UW).  The court found that UW had failed to undertake an adequate search for records, including photos and videos, associated with experiments conducted at its Washington National Primate Research Center and documents detailing financial and leadership crises as well as animal deaths. The court also found UW liable based on its policy of routinely destroying photos and videos, making it impossible for the school to comply with public records law. The decision was issued only days after Sen. Cory Booker called on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to investigate “why this deeply troubled facility continues to receive federal funding.”

Evading scrutiny of controversial experiments on monkeys by concealing and destroying public records has consequences. That’s the $540,000 message the King County Superior Court sent to the University of Washington today. The school squanders billions of public dollars a year, a fact that underscores its cruelty, incompetence, and contempt for accountability. The ultimate consequence is obvious: The Washington National Primate Research Center must be shut down.

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