Opinion ID: 2768865
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Mast (Dean of Students)

Text: The district court awarded attorney’s fees to Mast, stating that Barnes primarily relied upon “Mast’s alleged lack of action and his omissions as opposed to any affirmative action.” Order at 41 (July 24, 2013). The court further stated that Mast attended meetings that were called to discuss Barnes, “but Mast agreed with Keppler that Zaccari’s response was an overreaction.” Id. After reviewing the record, we are persuaded that the district court did not view the evidence in the light most favorable to Barnes. We note that although Mast may not have interpreted Barnes’s conduct as threatening, he testified at his deposition that he did not inform Zaccari of his opinion. Additionally, Zaccari’s letter to the Board of Regents states that “Mast provided a copy of a document generated by Mr. Barnes, wherein he had posted my picture on an image of a parking deck with the words, ‘S.A.V.E. – Zaccari Memorial Parking Deck.’” It would not be unreasonable for Barnes to construe Mast’s giving this document to Zaccari as assistance in building a case to withdraw Barnes. Moreover, the record contains notes from a meeting indicating that Mast suggested that Barnes’s “veiled threat” 32 Case: 13-13800 Date Filed: 01/12/2015 Page: 33 of 36 could be used as a basis for withdrawal for disorderly conduct. Again, we note that although Mast testified that he did not give Zaccari the above-referenced image generated by Barnes and that he did not remember suggesting a basis for Barnes’s withdrawal during the meeting, we must look at the evidence in the light most favorable to Barnes. In that light, we cannot say that Barnes’s suit against Mast was frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation. We therefore reverse the district court’s judgment awarding attorney’s fees to Mast.