Duke University, Three Lacrosse Players Announce Settlement

Duke U. ^ | 06/18/07

[Sleeping Freeper]

Durham, NC -- On Monday, Duke University leaders announced they have reached a settlement with David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. Below are statements about the settlement.

STATEMENT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND THE PRESIDENT OF DUKE UNIVERSITY:

This has been an extraordinary year for Duke students David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann, who were accused of serious crimes they did not commit. In April, after a thorough review, the North Carolina Attorney General declared that they were innocent of all charges and that the charges never should have been brought. We welcomed their exoneration and deeply regret the difficult year they and their families have had to endure. They conducted themselves with great dignity during their long ordeal.

These young men and their families have been the subject of intense scrutiny that has taken a heavy toll. The Board of Trustees and the President have also determined that it is in the best interests of the Duke community to eliminate the possibility of future litigation and move forward. For these reasons, and after considerable deliberation, the trustees have agreed to a settlement with each student. Beyond this statement, the resolution is a private matter among the students, their families and Duke.

This past year has been hard for many people who care about Duke -– for students, faculty, staff, alumni, families and friends –- and for the three students and their families most of all. We resolve to bring the Duke family together again, and to work to protect others from similar injustices in the criminal justice system in the future.

[investigateworld]

"My educated guess (I tried civil cases for about 15 years) is that the settlement is legal ..... "

Good safe bet, I suspect the University may even have thrown in some sweeteners to get this off the front page and to get all three student's agreement.

[blam]

"When is Crystal Magnum to be prosecuted for filing a false complaint?"

She goes free because slavery made her do it.

[DeFault User]

My educated guess (I tried civil cases for about 15 years) is that the settlement is legal fees and all other expenses times three.

Considering that Duke likely has an E&O policy of $20 million, I think you're right. The policy will cover all but the deductible/retention which may be $100k to $250k. They get off light until the policy renews, that is.

[ccmay]

I doubt that any of these professors are worth any real money.

Doesn't matter. They should face ruination.

I wish there really were such a thing as a vast right wing conspiracy, because if there were, bankrolling a punitive lawsuit to make an example of the hippie professors would be most helpful in reconquering the public institutions from the Gramscian filth.

Any Scaife types out there ready to take on this important public service of delousing the universities?

-ccm

[NorthFlaRebel]

My educated guess (I tried civil cases for about 15 years) is that the settlement is legal fees and all other expenses times three.

I doubt the settlement explicitly covered legal fees as Duke was in no way on the hook for those. This was all about the Gang of 88 acting as faculty and employees of Duke University, and the university's appearance of agreement with them. I have a hunch the settlement was not as large as some think it was. I highly doubt the Trustees of Duke University "took one" for Durham County.

Durham County is responsible for the legal fees, and I am almost certain they will settle on that without trial.

[The Great RJ]

While I don't think they necessarily got enough to cover all their legal costs, I'm sure none of them will have any school loans.

Who really needs to pony up some money is the State of N. Carolina court system for letting that a**hat, Nifong, continue as prosecutor when they knew or should have known he was out of control.

[utahagen]

“Or should I assume that the out of court settlement is as close to an apology as Duke is gonna offer?” You got it, but agreeing to a settlement is the best way to go for the (now exonerated) defendants. Talk is cheap and Duke’s apology would be meaningless, anyway. Sounds like Duke alumni have made it very clear over the past year that they were unhappy with the way the accused were treated by the school. Take the money and run, boys! You deserve every penny.

[50sDad]

If we had a truly sensible Reparations program in this country, people like her wouldn’t be out on the streets suing others. (They would be home watching big screen TV’s safely doing crack and drinking malt liqueur.)

[Doctor Raoul]

Consideering how Duke University, it's President and the Nazi 88 treated the players, the settlement should have required Duke University to change it's name to the Lynchberg University so people know where they'll be sending their kids.

[LWalk18]

It is not just the money, it is the time and energy to take on 88 lawsuits, which could drag on for years. Keep in mind again the players (two of whom are still in college, the other starting a lucrative, no doubt time consuming job on Wall Street) would have to make trips back to North Carolina to pursue this. It just isn’t worth it for them at this point.

[Sue Perkick]

That’s what should happen but I bet it doesn’t now. Hopefully they got a check that made it worth it.

[MayflowerMadam]

An actual apology would be nice.

In the full article, searching on “apology”, “apologize”, and “sorry”, nothing comes up.

[Sleeping Freeper]

My guess is the 3 settled with Duke for $2-3 million each. This would pay for the attorney costs and all other expenses related to the episode and leave some for each of the players. Duke can pay this amount easily.... settlements happen every day in the $1 million range for cases at university’s (I have 1st hand knowledge of this).

I also expect their attorneys have worked out a deal on legal fees that is discounted to this point...in anticipation of the big money (and to ensure they are retained). The real suit will be against the City of Durham and these attorneys stand to make a bundle on any future settlements/suits. I doubt they’ll ever get much out of Nifong... that’s why they’re going for the “criminal” complaint against him....

We should know how much the Duke settlement was by tomorrow... there will be too many people who know to keep this a secret...

[Kimmers]

The author made and excellent point when he stated “They conducted themselves with great dignity during their long ordeal.”

How true....these young men showed more dignity than the gang of 88...I think these young men will do quite well in life.

[Andy'smom]

“It is not just the money, it is the time and energy to take on 88 lawsuits, which could drag on for years. Keep in mind again the players (two of whom are still in college, the other starting a lucrative, no doubt time consuming job on Wall Street) would have to make trips back to North Carolina to pursue this. It just isn’t worth it for them at this point.”

That’s probably the best explanation. If I were a parent of one of the two students who are still in school, I’d settle for this - then I’d be sure to invest the money for the kid so he’d be set when he graduated.

[AnAmericanMother]

I dunno. There's a sovereign immunity problem in there, even with the question of official immunity solved by the illegal conduct of nifong.

I don't think the chances against the county are anywhere near as good as against the university, depending on what the state tort claims act looks like (if there is one).

Of course, government immunity is one of the areas of law that varies a good deal from state to state (it's all state constitution plus statutory and statutory interpretation) so NC may be a different case from GA.

[Valpal1]

I just hope it involves official letters of reprimand placed in the gang of 88’s permanent employment files.

[Cicero]

The announcement is very vague. It not only doesn’t say how much was paid, it doesn’t say whether or not the settlement covers the faculty.

Apart from the faculty, the university treated them very shabbily. They did nothing to discipline or rein in the faculty, they suspended the students, they fired the lacrosse coach, the ended the season. Those things alone should be worth quite a bit of reparation.

I can’t blame them for settling. This way they can pay off some of their legal bills and put the case behind them. I’m sure they’re pretty tired of the whole thing.

There remain Nifong, Durham, and the state government as possible targets of lawsuits.

[BearCub]

The way I see this is that Duke offered a settlement because any future litigation would surely be based upon "The Gang of 88" and their statements

I don't agree. I think Duke's liability would be based on its suspension of the students and possibly the dissolution of the lacrosse team.

The "Gang of 88" acted on their own and weren't representing Duke when they did so. I'm sure any statements made by faculty that purport to represent the university must be cleared by higher-ups before given. I doubt that happened in this case & don't think Duke would be liable.

For Duke to insist that the 88 be included in the settlement, they'd essentially be admitting the 88's statements were representing the university. Dangerous position.

I hope each of the 88 is sued into oblivion, along with Al, Jesse, the New Black Panthers, Nifong and the slut that started this whole mess.

[george76]

fire the 88