Case against colleges close to settled

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A settlement is close in a federal lawsuit filed against Hobart and William Smith Colleges by a former student who was accused of sexual misconduct with a co-ed and expelled.

In September 2017, U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth Wolford dismissed most claims made by the plaintiff, Matthew Rolph.

According to the online docket for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan W. Feldman has “received a letter from the parties dated Aug. 20 indicating that they have agreed to a settlement in principle.”

Feldman therefore cancelled oral arguments in the case that had been scheduled for Tuesday.

Rolph is represented in the federal case by Rochester attorney Catherine H. Josh and Joshua A. Engel, an attorney based in Mason, Ohio. They did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The school is represented by Pepper Hamilton LLP in Philadelphia. The defense attorneys also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rolph was acquitted of criminal sex act in Geneva City Court, a charge related to the alleged sexual misconduct cited by the school.

Rolph was approaching graduation when he was expelled in April 2014.

The federal complaint includes a detailed account of the controversy and publicity over the federal Department of Education’s threats at that time to withhold funding from colleges that fail to address sexual violence issues on their campuses.

The suit claims the school in the city of Geneva disciplined Rolph to avoid a further investigation by the Department of Education and possibly a lawsuit against the Colleges by the Department of Justice.

A student grievance panel heard the case, but Rolph was not allowed to have an attorney at the hearing. He was allowed to have an adviser, but the adviser could not speak or question witnesses.

The co-ed made a statement, but Rolph could not question her. There was no physical evidence or witnesses to support the allegations against Rolph, the suit claims.

Rolph’s federal complaint includes two claims under Title IX of the Education Amendment Act and four claims under state law.

U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth Wolford dismissed the state claims and left intact a federal claim.

“Plaintiff has adequately alleged facts that plausibly support at least a minimal inference of gender bias on the part of HWS,” Wolford wrote in her 40-page decision.

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