A judge has declined to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a retired University of Iowa administrator over private meetings that Board of Regents members held with the man they later hired as the UI's president.

District Court Judge Robert Blink ruled Monday the lawsuit filed in June by former administrator Gerhild Krapf should proceed, though he noted he wasn't evaluating the merits of her claim.

The regents sought to dismiss the lawsuit, which argued four regents and board President Bruce Rastetter violated the Iowa Open Meetings Act by holding private meetings with Bruce Harreld before his selection as university president.

The board responded there was no violation because a majority of the nine-member board didn't meet together with Harreld.