Pacific U. Grad Student Expelled Over Sexual Assault Allegation Wins Massive Settlement From School
“My sincere hope is that Pacific’s leadership takes a hard, searching look at what happened in this case so it can do what is necessary to ensure that it never happens again”
Perhaps Pacific University will be more careful in cases like this in the future.
The College Fix reports:
Expelled grad student wins $3.95 million verdict against Pacific University
A former psychology graduate student won a $3.95 million verdict against Pacific University after it dismissed him from school following sexual assault allegations.
The Washington County jury awarded Peter Steele the amount after it “found that Pacific had not acted in a fair and reasonable way toward Steele and had intentionally caused him emotional distress.”
“The jury sided with Pacific on other counts, however, finding that the school did not violate Title IX, the landmark gender discrimination law, in its dealings with Steele and that it had not breached its contract with Steele,” The Oregonian reported.
The newspaper reported:
Peter Steele, who enrolled in Pacific’s doctorate in psychology program in 2016, was suspended by the school in 2020 after a female student told school officials that he sexually and physically assaulted her. Steele maintains that his relationship with the woman was consensual and he did not assault her.
Steele and the woman settled competing claims against each other before Steele’s case against Pacific went to trial, Steele’s lawyer Kevin Sali said. The terms of that settlement are confidential, Sali said.
“My sincere hope is that Pacific’s leadership takes a hard, searching look at what happened in this case so it can do what is necessary to ensure that it never happens again,” Sali told the media.
The university is considering an appeal, according to spokesman Blake Timm. “At every step in this situation, we followed our policies and procedures and we did not discriminate on any basis,” he told the media.
Brooklyn College Professor KC Johnson, who wrote a book about the Duke University lacrosse rape case, noted the uniqueness of the case.
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Comments
The Oberlin of the Pac NW. Oh wait, that is Evergreen. Washington County is “Western Portland” so it is interesting that they got a jury which wasn’t totally corrupted.
The fact that the Oregonian even reported this is a sign that even they are starting to notice a changing wind around Portland.
“The university is considering an appeal, according to spokesman Blake Timm. “At every step in this situation, we followed our policies and procedures and we did not discriminate on any basis,” he told the media.”
Then your policies and procedures are wrong, idiot.
I wonder which way their pool of male applicants will swing after this now that college has stated their “equal treatment” policy.
>> “… and that it had not breached its contract with Steele,” The Oregonian reported.”
That’s not really true. Almost half the damages were part of a finding for the plaintiff on breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, which is a breach of contract claim. The verdict form separates out the implied covenant claim from a different alleged breach of contract, probably because the plaintiff pled it that way in the complaint, but it’s still legally a breach of contract claim.