A federal judge dismissed seven of the 10 complaints in a $1.5 million lawsuit filed by suspended University student Harrison Kerr Tigrett against the University October 22 1999. Tigrett sued the University after he was suspended for his role in the assault of University student Alexander "Sandy" Kory on the Ruffner Footbridge November 21, 1997.
Tigrett claimed in his lawsuit that the University violated his due process rights, civil rights and his First Amendment rights when he was suspended for one full academic year and given 75 hours of community service.
Federal Judge Norman K. Moon threw out most of the lawsuit, but denied the University's motion to dismiss the parts of the suit regarding the University Judiciary Committee trial in November 1998.
Moon declined to dismiss Tigrett's charge that the UJC and Vice President for Student Affairs William W. Harmon violated his rights of due process during his judiciary hearing.
Tigrett alleges that Harmon told him and two of the other students involved in the assault, Richard Smith and Bradley Kintz, the UJC trial would be postponed. Tigrett's suit claims that because of what Harmon said, the three defendants did not attend their Nov. 21, 1998 hearing because they thought it was postponed.
During the hearing the UJC found Tigrett guilty of violating Standards 1, 5 and 8 of the University's Standards of Conduct and expelled Tigrett, Kintz and Smith. Tigrett and the others appealed the decision because they were not present at the hearing. After the Judicial Review Board and a panel assembled by Harmon reviewed the case in the spring of 1999, Tigrett's violation of Standard 5 was dropped and University President John T. Casteen III decided to suspend Tigrett for two semesters.
The Judicial Review Board denied Tigrett's appeal on June 22, 1999. He filed suit on October 22, 1999.
Smith and Kintz also have lawsuits pending against the University.
Tigrett also alleges the University did not notify him he was being charged with violating Standard 8. Kory did not initially charge Tigrett with Standard 8, which prohibits disorderly conduct. UJC procedures require that a student be provided with written notification of the charges being brought against him.
Also in his lawsuit, Tigrett claimed the University violated his First Amendment rights by sanctioning remarks he made to Kory during the incident even though he never physically hurt Kory. Smith has admitted to being the only defendant who actually assaulted Kory.
Moon ruled Tigrett's argument was unfounded because the Supreme Court has held that fighting words are not protected by the First Amendment. Tigrett said in his suit that he did not use fighting words, but has declined to state what he said to Kory, so Moon found his argument to be "without merit."
"Even if Kory never felt directly threatened, Tigrett's use of curse words had the effect of provoking and antagonizing another student for no apparent reason. There is no basis in constitutional law to protect that type of activity," Moon wrote in his opinion.
According to Moon's decision, Tigrett and Kintz "verbally confronted" Kory and exchanged "verbal banter, name-calling and curse words." Smith then got out of the car they were in and "attempted to calm the situation," but hit Kory in the face.
In May 1998, the Albemarle General District Court sentenced Tigrett and Kintz to eight days in jail and community service for disorderly conduct. Smith was sentenced to two months in jail on a misdemeanor assault and battery charge.
Tigrett also claimed his rights of due process were violated when a panel assembled by Harmon reviewed the case in May, 1999. Smith claimed a similar violation in his lawsuit. The complaints were dismissed in Tigrett's and Smith's lawsuits.
The only defendants remaining in Tigrett's lawsuit are the UJC members who conducted the hearing and Harmon. The judge also allowed Tigrett's complaint that the Board of Visitors failed to educate the UJC on how to conduct the hearing.
Harmon declined to comment on case specifics, because he is still named as a defendant in the portion of the lawsuit that was not dismissed.
The trial is set for this October, but University Associate General Counsel Richard C. Kast said the University is planning to file another motion to have the rest of the lawsuit dismissed. Kintz's and Smith's trials also are scheduled to be heard in Charlottesville Federal Court during October.
Kast said the University currently has five lawsuits pending against it involving student disciplinary measures. Besides Tigrett, Smith and Kintz, Jonathan Cobb sued the University for $1.05 million Nov. 30, 1999 after he was expelled from the University for cheating on an ECON 371 exam in the spring of 1997. Former University student Maurice Guillaume Goodreau III filed a $1.75 million lawsuit in Oct., 1999 after the Honor Committee revoked his degree eight years after he graduated for misusing Karate Club funds.
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