RULING: Third Lawsuit Against Dartmouth in a Year Survives. The Unlawful Expulsion of This ‘John Doe’ Moves Forward.
A federal judge recently ruled that the latest wrongful expulsion lawsuit brought by a male student against Dartmouth College can move forward in part, but the judge appeared skeptical of the student’s remaining arguments. Doe’s attorneys claim that Dartmouth failed to meet its contractual obligation to provide a fair and impartial investigation because the school refused to let the student submit a polygraph test into evidence and failed to properly scrutinize the credibility of his accuser, among other issues. Judge Joseph Laplante dismissed the claims that Dartmouth violated Title IX by discriminating against Doe based on his gender. He allowed the case to move forward to the discovery phase on the basis of the breach of contract claims. “I do think the plaintiff has stated a claim for a breach of contract, although I’m not going to say it’s a strong case,” Laplante said after announcing his decision.
The case is at least the third lawsuit filed by a male former student against Dartmouth in a one-year period alleging that the school mishandled its disciplinary process and discriminated against the accused student based on his gender. The actual judicial system has seen an increase in the number of so-called John Doe cases filed under pseudonyms by male students who claim their investigations weren’t handled fairly. But many judges, while willing to hear arguments that a college’s investigative process violated its own policies or federal law, are hesitant to second-guess school investigators’ decisions absent procedural errors. “The courts should not be appellate courts for university disciplinary proceedings,” Laplante said Wednesday, adding “I don’t want this court to be in that business.”
unionleader-Todd Feathers
