Iowa State and Partnership Press, owner of the Ames Tribune and The Campus Reader, have agreed to settle in principle on the lawsuit started by Partnership Press in September 1996.

The lawsuit was filed by Partnership Press over the university’s distribution policy. Partnership Press thought the policy was unjust because the university permitted the Iowa State Daily, ISU’s campus newspaper, to distribute in locations not available to Partnership Press.

Paul Tanaka, director of ISU Legal Services, said, “We’ve agreed to settle in principle, but it’s premature to talk about settlement terms.”

To settle in principle means the two parties have come to some very broad areas of agreement, but have not decided the specifics of the settlement.

Magistrate Ross A. Walters held a joint session with ISU and Partnership Press on Wednesday, where it was recorded that the parties had agreed in principle to settle.

ISU and Partnership Press were given 30 days by Walters to collaborate the formal agreement.

“We will try and preserve the role of the Daily and other student-run publications on campus,” Tanaka said. “We will protect the student voice.”

If the parties had not settled, the case would have gone to trial. Tanaka said either the judge would have found in favor of the Daily or the Daily would have been found liable and forced to change its distribution policy and pay for damages.

Although university officials felt confident about the case, Tanaka said they decided a settlement would be the safest option.

“There were many reasons to settle,” he said. “You can control your destiny, and the parties get to have a say in resolving the problem rather than having a third party do it.”

Details about the settlement have yet to be decided, but Tanaka said he expects both parties to come to a decision about the terms of the settlement within their 30-day deadline.

Jeff Stein, lawyer for the Daily, said although the trial was scheduled for next week, most cases such as this one are resolved with a settlement.

“We have a settlement in principle, but not a settlement in detail,” he said.

Stein said within the next 30 days both parties will work together to come up with one document. “In essence it is an exchange of documents,” he said.

Whether the settlement will be good for the Daily, Stein said, won’t be determined until the details are known.

“Obviously the university is going to preserve the student voice,” Stein said. “You don’t settle unless you feel good about the situation. Both sides will win to some degree.”

The lawsuit was between Partnership Press and ISU, but the outcome of a trial could have affected other student-run publications’ distribution policies.

Michael Gartner, president of Partnership Press and editor of the Ames Tribune, said Partnership Press has agreed to the framework of a settlement.

“We’ve been in discussion and agreed on a framework, but there are so many details to still work out that it would be premature to talk about at this point,” he said.

When asked if the settlement will be positive step for Partnership Press, Gartner said, “You never agree to a settlement unless you’re willing to live by it.”

Gartner said he hopes a settlement will be agreed upon by both parties within the 30-day deadline. “We expect to [come to an agreement], and the judge expects us to,” he said.

John Hobson, president of the Daily Publication Board, said the settlement will be a good middle ground for the Daily and every publication like it.

Although Hobson said he still sides with the university’s opinion of the distribution policy, he said the settlement is a “large leap forward.”

“My only concern is that everyone agrees to the settlement and abides by it,” he said. “It’s positive that everyone’s talking at least, and hopefully everyone can benefit.”