Judge orders USF to release documents to Leavitt in civil case

A judge has ordered the University of South Florida to release non-redacted versions of investigative documents related to the firing of former football coach Jim Leavitt.

Leavitt's lawyer, Wil Florin, had made two other similar requests this year in what is turning out to be a drawn-out civil case between the university and the coach credited with building its football program.

"They're fighting hard to keep us from the evidence," Florin said after the hour-long hearing today in downtown Tampa. "The records we're seeking are going to back up the fact that there were other reasons behind his termination."

USF attorney Rich McCrae said the university has complied with every records request.

"I keep hearing that we didn't produce anything," McCrae told Circuit Court Judge Bernard Silver. "We have produced everything."

Leavitt was fired after the school's investigation concluded he grabbed running back Joel Miller by the throat and struck him twice in the face during halftime of a game last year.

In June, Florin requested USF to turn over the notes of the two primary investigators in the review that led to Leavitt's firing. Those notes include interviews with 29 people, including several football players.

Florin said those documents had redactions with people's identities and uniform numbers blacked out.

"It's tough to make heads or tails out of all this stuff," Florin told Silver.

Silver ordered that those notes be sent to Florin again without redactions, except for medical information. The judge said he will review at least 800 more pages of sealed documents to decide if all or some will be turned over to Florin.

Leavitt is suing the school for breach of contract, claiming the university's investigation was "biased, flawed and legally unsupportable." Leavitt is seeking to recoup about $7.1 million. The university paid him $66,667 when it fired him with cause.

"I want the truth to get out," Leavitt said after the hearing. "It's very important to me. It's very important to my family. What was alleged is not true."