JUDGE AGREES w Falsely Accused Male in Sex Lawsuit Against Duke
Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson permanently barred Duke from suspending junior Ciaran McKenna over sexual misconduct claims. McKenna claimed Duke breached its own policy by allowing a second hearing panel to hear the case at all, when instead the appeals panel should have “resolved the case” as specified by university procedure at the time. “The summary judgement motion was about the contract claim, that Duke has a contract with their students and in particular with this student, and that they violated that contract,” said Emilia Beskind, one of McKenna’s lawyers. “The permanent injunction is based on the court’s finding on that claim.” Jay Ferguson, McKenna’s other lawyer, stated that Duke official Janie Long is on record telling a student that an appeals board “will make the final decision” in cases where there’s no need for more testimony. Per Ferguson, Duke officials “didn’t want this court to see” that email, telling Judge Hudson that the university handed it over late in the trial-preparation process after McKenna’s lawyers asked them to confirm its authenticity or see Long called as a witness. Judge Hudson’s ruling effectively decided McKenna’s breach-of-contract lawsuit against Duke ahead of trial, leaving the two sides little more to do but argue about the damages Duke eventually might have to pay McKenna.
dukechronicle.com Staff heraldsun.com By Ray Gronberg
