We may finally have reached a turning point in the ongoing saga between Penn State and the Dickinson School of Law's Board of Governors.

That point is where some of the board members are fighting back.

A lawsuit filed by three board members last week claims that Penn State has no right to potentially close down Dickinson after 2015.

The Board of Governors voted 17-14 on Jan. 15 to accept Penn State's proposal for a dual-campus law school.

The plan calls to build a new law school campus at University Park. It also calls to maintain the current campus at Carlisle until at least 2015. Penn State makes no promise to keep the Carlisle campus beyond that date, however.

Board members who filed the suit last week say that Penn State cannot close down the Carlisle campus under a 1997 agreement.

That agreement states that location must remain "unless otherwise agreed for good and legitimate reasons" by the Board of Governors and Penn State Board of Trustees.

Congratulations to Dickinson board members for finally taking a stand with this suit, whether it has merit or not.

Until now, the board has been strung along by Penn State throughout discussions on the Dickinson locations.

The board has fought Penn State's intentions, but with each issue, eventually submitted and figured it needed the university's support.

Now, some board members are recognizing how controversial this tight vote was.

And they are telling Penn State that they won't allow something to happen that is they feel may have been improper.

Are there "good and legitimate reasons" to close down the Carlisle campus in 10 years or so?

Possibly.

But what's happening now is a necessary questioning of whether Dickinson's board made the right decision in light of a contract that is still valid.

The sheer vagueness of the statement calls upon a challenge. Someone outside of the current agreement should review it to make sure what Penn State is doing is "good and legitimate."

When nearly half of the Board of Governors is unhappy with the current decision, it's possible that more discussion or different action needs to take place.

Although it's been many months since discussions began, perhaps some new options can be developed.

With such different -- and apparently still passionate -- needs between Penn State and Dickinson, it's worth considering once again whether the two should split for good.