"The University of Washington has agreed to pay $97,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by The Seattle Times, which alleged the university failed to provide public records a reporter requested about coronavirus testing of student-athletes.

"The reporter, Mike Reicher, requested emails of the UW's head of sports medicine last year to learn more about the Pac-12's decision to partner with a manufacturer of rapid coronavirus tests.

"UW said it did not find any responsive records. But The Times obtained emails that included the UW official's emails from another Pac-12 university and provided them to the UW to show that its search was inadequate.

"The Times, represented by attorney Katherine George, sued in January. The paper argued that the university's response violated the state Public Records Act, which applies to public agencies like UW.

"UW denies that it withheld records and says it was an 'oversight' that they were missed in its initial search. In the settlement reached this month, UW did not admit liability but said it was taking steps to improve its response to records requests."