VANDERBILT: Denied Due Process & Expelled Days Before Graduation, Male Sues for $25M
Vanderbilt is a party in a legal battle with a former student who was expelled in 2016, three days before his graduation, on allegations of sexual assault. Sam*, who was a member of ROTC and retroactively lost his scholarship, now owes Vanderbilt an estimated $218,000 in tuition, according to a complaint that he filed in March. There are a total of 14 counts listed in Sam’s complaint: breach of contract, promissory estoppel, declaratory judgment–Title IX and Clery Act, defamation, damages under Title IX, negligence per se, violation of the Clery Act, gross negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unjust enrichment, erroneous outcome, selective enforcement, deliberate indifference/hostile environment and archaic assumptions. In his complaint, Sam claims that he did not receive due process during the Title IX investigation, and that he was “guilty until proven innocent” throughout the investigation process. “We would like to resolve the case short of a trial, but if we have to go to court we are willing to do that,” said Rob McKinney, Sam’s attorney. No criminal charges have been brought against Sam.
vanderbilthustler.com By Sarah Friedman
