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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Court tosses out Syringa lawsuit

The Syringa Networks lawsuit against the state Department of Administration over the award of the multimillion-dollar Idaho Education Network contract to Qwest has been dismissed, as 4th District Judge Patrick Owen granted the state's motion for a summary judgment. "It does appear that Syringa was cut off from participating in the work," the judge wrote in his decision; you can read it here. But he found that Syringa didn't show sufficient evidence of breach of contract in the move, and didn't exhaust all its administrative remedies by appealing the contract award through an administrative appeal before suing.

“By ruling in our favor, Judge Owen vindicated the integrity of our purchasing processes as well as the integrity of our employees,” said Department of Administration Director Mike Gwartney. Gwartney said the court decision "will allow continued implementation of the Idaho Education Network," a project to connect all Idaho high schools to a high-speed broadband network to expand educational opportunities for students.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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