Yale will ‘offer a vigorous defense’ against suit by expelled student

Yale University today said that it would vigorously defend itself against a federal lawsuit filed by a student who was expelled in February for sexual misconduct.

Yale University today said that it would vigorously defend itself against a federal lawsuit filed by a student who was expelled in February for sexual misconduct.

“The lawsuit is factually inaccurate and legally baseless, and Yale will offer a vigorous defense,” the university said in a statement regarding the suit by Jack Montague.

The civil suit by Montague against Yale filed in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut claims he was wrongfully expelled three months before he would have graduated from Yale College due to gender bias on the part of the university, and through a process in which Yale violated its own policies and procedures.

Montague, who was expelled following the investigation of a complaint brought against him before the University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct (UWC), seeks reinstatement by Yale as a student in good standing or a reopening of the UWC process. The suit also seeks damages to be determined through the trial.

In response to the filing of the suit, Yale stated that its “procedures for addressing allegations of sexual misconduct are thorough and fair. Allegations are investigated by an impartial fact finder, heard by five trained members of the Yale community, and decided by the dean of the school in which the accused student is enrolled. Throughout the process, all parties have advisors, which can be legal counsel, and they can appeal a decision. Where cases involve judgments about the witnesses’ credibility, all of the available corroborating or contradictory information is carefully weighed.”

Citing the history of complaints heard by the UWC, the university noted that one out of five formal sexual misconduct hearings has ended without a finding against the accused, and, in two out of five cases, the accused student has received a reprimand or probation. About 1 out of 10 cases has ended in expulsion.

“The decision to expel a student has been made only after the most careful consideration, based on the facts and, when appropriate, disciplinary history,” Yale stated.

A summary of Yale’s procedures for addressing complaints of sexual misconduct may be found here:

http://news.yale.edu/2016/04/05/yale-s-procedures-addressing-complaints-sexual-misconduct

Share this with Facebook Share this with X Share this with LinkedIn Share this with Email Print this

Media Contact

Office of Public Affairs & Communications: opac@yale.edu, 203-432-1345