Quote:

 

http://tinyurl.com/mn2udug

Dez Wells sues Xavier over expulsion
August 21, 2013

Ex-Xavier swingman Dez Wells is suing his former school and its president, Father Michael Graham, for what he says was a wrongful expulsion, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. Southern District Court of Ohio on Tuesday. USA TODAY Sports obtained a copy of the complaint Tuesday night.

Wells, who currently attends and plays basketball at Maryland, filed the federal lawsuit Tuesday seeking damages for the fallout from his expulsion, which stemmed from a July 2012 allegation of sexual assault.

The lawsuit was first reported by Yahoo! Sports. In it, Wells states that he is seeking to recover damages "arising out of Xavier's failure to follow its own policies and procedures regarding student disciplinary actions" and Father Graham's "failure to abide by the duty and obligation to adhere to such policies in a good faith, professional and regular, unbiased manner."

Wells seeks unspecified damages and to restore his tarnished image, Wells' lawyer Peter Ginsberg said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports.

In July 2012, Wells was accused of sexual assault. The suit alleges that Wells and a female Xavier student, who also was his resident advisor, engaged in consensual sex. The female student went to Xavier campus police hours later and told them Wells had sexually assaulted her.

The local prosecutor assigned to the case, Joseph Deters, not only declined to pursue charges, but also spoke out against the way Xavier University handled Wells. In an interview with WLW-AM radio last summer, Deters called the school's expulsion process involving its University Conduct Board (UCB) "fundamentally unfair" and "seriously flawed," and he said that the situation "should never have gotten to the point where someone's reputation is ruined." A grand jury also declined to prosecute Wells.

Deters states in the lawsuit that he reached out to Father Graham regarding concerns he had about the truthfulness of the sexual assault allegations. Deters also says he advised Xavier not to conduct a hearing on the alleged incident until he had completed his investigation -- which it did not.

In the lawsuit, Wells alleges that the UCB failed to follow the school's policy for disciplinary hearings, conducted a fundamentally unfair hearing and "defamed Wells by publicly proclaiming him guilty of rape."

During his UCB hearing, Wells testified that he "could never rape a woman in light of the fact that his sister was a victim of rape," the suit states. The suit also questions UCB procedures and whether members of the UCB were adequately trained to handle rape kits and related matters to begin with.

"From the moment this nightmare began, I've been trying to get everyone to understand that I am innocent," Wells said in a statement released to USA TODAY Sports through his lawyer. "The supposed leaders at Xavier wouldn't listen. I was guilty even after I was proved innocent. Xavier destroyed my reputation. It needs to make this right. Xavier needs to set the record straight."

Wells transferred to Maryland last fall, and in a surprising move, his petition to play immediately was granted by the NCAA. He played in all 38 of the Terps' games -- but that wasn't the end of the saga.

Wells says he has been "branded" as a sexual predator and has been heckled by opposing fans at road games on the subject matter.

"It is especially disappointing that Father Graham and the other Xavier "role models" were so grossly irresponsible and uncaring about what they were doing to the reputation – and life -- of Dez," Ginsberg, Wells' lawyer, said in a statement. "Xavier's silence for the past year and refusal to acknowledge how it mistreated Dez are inexcusable. This lawsuit is not only for Dez but for anyone who has his or her most basic rights trampled upon."

Father Graham, Xavier's president, released a counter statement to Yahoo! Sports, calling the allegations of wrongdoing "unfounded" and pointing out that Xavier "never revealed the specific charge" against Wells other than saying he violated the school's student code of conduct.

[No apology? No rushing forward to say that if the above were so, what followed was all a misunderstanding,
and the school will do everything in its power to help restore Wells' reputation?]

Wells and his lawyers seek a trial by jury in Ohio.

Quote:

 

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/xavier/2013/08/20/dez-wells-suing-xavier/

Graham said this in a statement:

“We have read the complaint and the allegations of wrongdoing are unfounded and cannot be supported. The process used by the Xavier University Conduct Board applies to all of our students and is the standard used in American universities. After members of the Conduct Board reached their decision, the matter was considered and upheld in an appeal. The sanction for the offense was expulsion. The University has never revealed the specific charge against Dez Wells other than to say he was found responsible for a violation of the Student Code of Conduct. The university will vigorously defend the process and the decision.”

Quote:

 

Plaintiff's complaint:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/basketball/dez-wells-complaint.pdf


"The handbook is a valid, binding, and enforceable contract between Xavier and Wells."

"Xavier's actions were a direct and proximate cause of Wells' severe emotional distress."

"Xavier's statement was libelous per quod because it was not reasonably subject to an innocent
interpretation and consisted of words that reasonably created a false impression."

Quote:

 

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/08/dez-wells-fights-back.php

DEZ WELLS FIGHTS BACK

Dez Wells is the best basketball player on the University of Maryland’s men’s team. He came to Maryland after being kicked out of Xavier University due to allegations that he sexually assaulted a female student.

My first reaction to Wells’ transfer was disappointment that the team I support would accept a player deemed morally unsuitable by his prior school. But it quickly became apparent to me that Xavier treated Wells unfairly and that Maryland was right to admit him.

First, the alleged victim (there’s no dispute that Wells had sex with her, but he says that it was consensual, arising out of a game of “truth or dare”) declined to press charges against Wells. Second, the local prosecutor nonetheless pursued the case, but he and a Cincinnati grand jury ultimately declined to indict Wells.

Indeed, the prosecutor, Joseph Deters, stated that the decision not to prosecute wasn’t a close call. And he publicly criticized Xavier’s handling of the matter, stating that the University’s actions were “fundamentally unfair” and “seriously flawed,” and that the matter “should never have gotten to the point where someone’s reputation is ruined.”

Third, the NCAA, which usually requires transfer students to sit out for a period before they can become eligible to play for their new school, waived this requirement for Wells. Clearly, it believed that his forced transfer was the result of an injustice.

Hoping to remedy the injustice, Wells has now sued Xavier. He alleges that the school denied him fair process. Wells seeks damages and an apology from the University.

Xavier has responded that the process it used in Wells’ case is the same standard it uses for all students and the one used throughout American universities.

Sadly, there may be some truth to this. The federal government has pressured many universities into adopting a minimalist “preponderance of the evidence” standard for judging allegations of student sexual misconduct. Moreover, and unforgivably, this standard typically is applied without the use of basic procedural safeguards — e.g., a well-trained, impartial finder of fact, representation by counsel, discovery, and standard rules of evidence.

But Xavier apparently was under additional federal pressure because of its handling of previous complaints of sexual harassment. Thus, it may well be that, in order to appease the feds, Xavier gave Wells even less process than is normally afforded to male students accused of sexual misconduct. Indeed, his suit alleges that Xavier failed to follow its own procedural rules.

As prosecutor Deters put it, “Any time you get federal people involved in this, you should expect a disaster.”

I haven’t yet analyzed Wells’ suit to the point that I can offer an opinion as to its merit as a matter of law. But Wells is to be commended for challenging Xavier’s decision to throw him overboard in the name of political correctness and obsequiousness to the over-bearing, ideologically-driven feds.

Quasimodo

Aug 21 2013, 12:51 PM

Quote:

 

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/xavier/2013/08/20/dez-wells-suing-xavier/

Graham said this in a statement:

“We have read the complaint and the allegations of wrongdoing are unfounded and cannot be supported. The process used by the Xavier University Conduct Board applies to all of our students and is the standard used in American universities. After members of the Conduct Board reached their decision, the matter was considered and upheld in an appeal. The sanction for the offense was expulsion.
The University has never revealed the specific charge against Dez Wells other than to say he was found responsible for a violation of the Student Code of Conduct. The university will vigorously defend the process and the decision.”

Sounds imho like a lawyer's response; not that of a university president (and teacher); or
for that matter of a priest.
(snip)