SETTLEMENT: DUKE was Losing in Court. Settles Four Year Lawsuit w Falsely Accused Male
Duke settled a legal dispute Monday about its student conduct process that’s been up in the air for almost four years, the University confirmed. Lewis McLeod enrolled at Duke as part of the Class of 2014. He was [falsely] accused of sexual misconduct by a female student in November 2013. Duke found McLeod responsible for sexual misconduct, and expelled him. In May 2014, McLeod filed a lawsuit, alleging that Duke violated the student conduct procedures set out in the Duke Community Standard. He alleged, among other issues, that Duke’s investigation was sloppy and that the University erred in conflating intoxication with incapacitation of the female student…The prospective settlement still requires a couple of weeks’ worth of paperwork before it’s final. This settlement eliminates McLeod’s case becoming a precedent that either reinforces or overturns the existing cases that regard private-university discipline-handbook promises as non-binding unless they’re part of an actual contract package the student and campus officials have signed.
heraldsun.com By Ray Gronberg
