Originally published July 29 on IdahoEdNews.org .
Three years into a bitter and long-percolating lawsuit, attorneys for Boise State University and a Boise coffee shop are headed to mediation.
Ada County District Judge Cynthia Yee-Wallace ordered the mediation Friday — and set an Aug. 23 deadline.
“The parties … must participate in good faith in all aspects of the mediation,” wrote Yee-Wallace, who issued a variety of rulings in Big City Coffee’s $10 million lawsuit against Boise State .
The lawsuit, and the testy case, stems from Big City’s short-lived stint at Boise State . Big City says it was forced to close a campus location in 2020, due to student protests over owner Sarah Jo Fendley’s vocal support of law enforcement. Boise State maintains that Big City left campus voluntarily.
Yee-Wallace’s mediation order could be a final attempt to settle the dispute out of court. A 10-day jury trial is still scheduled to begin on Aug. 28.
Boise State opposed mediation. But Yee-Wallace’s rulings were a mixed bag, and Boise State prevailed on other fronts. As Margaret Carmel of BoiseDev reported Monday , the rulings narrow the scope of the cases involving past and former Boise State officials.