A long-standing lawsuit accusing the University of mishandling charges that William McCormick, a former student and varsity wrestler, raped the daughter of a major donor was dismissed in federal court last December. The suit, filed against the University and two alums, was settled outside of court.
The University "did not participate in any settlement negotiations," said Marisa Quinn, vice president for public affairs and University relations, Dec. 21, and it does not have information about the details of the settlement.
The settlement total was not publicly released. William Poore, the case mediator, had recommended sums of $850,000 and $1.05 million, according to a conversation between Scott Kilpatrick, McCormick's lawyer, and Michael Burch, McCormick's former advisor and an assistant wrestling coach at the University, detailed in a Jan. 20 GoLocalProv article. This conversation took place a month before a settlement was reached and was secretly recorded by Burch, according to the article.
The dismissal stipulated the McCormick family may not sue the alums or the University on these charges again.
The lawsuit was first filed under seal by Scott Kilpatrick, McCormick's lawyer, in September 2009. The suit claimed the University mismanaged the female alum's allegations of rape against McCormick after a September 2006 incident because of the relationship between the University and the female alum's father, who is a high-profile donor. The Herald is withholding the alum's name because she may have been the victim of a sex crime.
McCormick, formerly a member of the class of 2010, withdrew from Brown on a medical release in October 2006. McCormick's complaint alleges that he was forced to leave campus following the incident in September without being made aware of the specific allegations against him. Between the night the alleged rape occurred and McCormick's withdrawal from the University, the alum's father communicated with President Ruth Simmons and Senior Vice President for Corporation Affairs and Governance Russell Carey '91 MA'06 through emails later released in the lawsuit.
The University maintains it did not commit any wrongdoing in addressing the matter, Quinn has previously stated.
The lawsuit was transferred several times prior to its dismissal. The first two judges to preside over the case, William Smith and Ronald Lagueux, both of the Rhode Island District federal court, recused themselves. Smith recused himself last January because his daughter applied to Brown. Two months later, Lagueux recused himself because the alums' lawyer, Joseph Cavanagh, had represented him in court in 1988. The case was transferred to New Hampshire prior to returning to Rhode Island last October to be heard by newly confirmed Rhode Island District Federal Court Judge John McConnell '80.
— Herald staff
