Following the dismissal of their $1.05 million suit against the Honor Committee, the parents of Jonathan Cobb, a former University student expelled for cheating, have filed an appeal.
Jonathan Cobb, along with his parents Darryl and Annette, registered an appeal of the dismissal with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia March 13, Annette Cobb said.
Annette Cobb said they will continue to pursue the lawsuit "until we can't pursue it anymore" and have exhausted all legal options available to them.
She declined to comment on the basis behind the appeal, but said she felt a lack of due process in her son's case is an important factor behind the appeal.
"If you look at some of the affidavits and the due process," of the case, it is questionable, she said.
Jonathan Cobb's parents originally brought suit against the University following his dismissal in the fall semester of 1997.
He was found guilty by a student jury on Dec. 6, 1997, for cheating on an ECON 371 examination given March 5, 1997.
Cobb requested and received an appeal hearing Feb. 18, 1998. The appeal hearing upheld the original guilty verdict and Cobb left the University after his expulsion.
His parents then filed a suit against the University making eight claims.
On July 7, 1999, the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia dismissed all but three of the claims - denial of equal protection under the law, denial of procedural due process and defamation.
The court also granted the University's motion for a summary judgment on the remaining claims in the case.
On Feb. 18, Judge Norman K. Moon, in his summary judgment, dismissed the remaining three claims against the University.
He also dismissed Cobb's parents' claim to the lawsuit.
"They were dismissed because Jonathan Cobb was himself an adult," said Richard Kast, associate general counsel for the University.
Although Moon dismissed the Cobbs' claim that there were procedural problems in their son's case, Annette Cobb still maintains there were some discrepancies involved in the handling of her son's case for which her family deserves to receive compensation.
"We just want some justice for the irregularities that were not taken care of," Cobb said.
She said the Honor Committee "stated in a letter to my son that there were irregularities in his case, how can you have a just trial if there were irregularities?"
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