Sewanee $3 million breach-of-contract lawsuit trial begins

Article here. Excerpt:

'A $3 million breach-of-contract lawsuit trial against Sewanee: The University of the South enters its second day today with lawyers questioning an expert witness on college sexual harassment and assault policies.

The plaintiff, identified only as John Doe in court documents, is suing the school in federal court for negligence and breach of contract, claiming he received no due process when forced to leave following a rape accusation by another student. The female student later left the school for drug and alcohol treatment and did not pursue criminal charges against Doe.

"Instead of being careful with their conduct, the university chose to rush to judgment," Doe's attorney Charles Wayne told jurors in his opening statement Tuesday afternoon.
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Sokolow testified this was the first time he has worked as a witness on behalf of someone accused in a sexual assault. In all other instances, he has testified on behalf of the university or the victim of a sexual assault.

Wayne asked Sokolow for his opinion on how Sewanee handled Doe's case.

"The university did not satisfy the standard of care," Sokolow responded.

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Doe said Hartman asked for a written statement and advised Doe to say he was too drunk to know what was going on the night of the incident and that he is sorry.

The committee met the next day and, within a few hours, found Doe guilty and told him he had two days to leave campus.

Hartman told Doe to "destroy" all related materials and that appealing the decision could increase his punishment and possibly cause A.B. to pursue criminal charges, Wayne told the jury. Doe's options, according to Hartman, were to leave school for one semester, reapply for admission with the incident remaining on his student record or withdraw for a year and reapply for the next fall with a clean record.

Doe left campus and decided on the one-year option, but later decided not to return. In June 2009, he and his parents, identified as James and Mary Doe, filed the lawsuit.

Jury selection took the entire morning Tuesday. Seven women and two men comprise the nine-member jury.'