Lawsuit brought by kidnapped ex-student against UR dismissed

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the University of Rochester by a former student who was kidnapped and tortured.

U.S. District Court Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. described the lawsuit in court papers as “a case about a college student who found out that ‘stranger danger’ also includes attractive women who slide into your DMs on Facebook.”

“Plaintiff Nicholas Kollias was a student at the University of Rochester in December 2015 when he got into the car of two unknown women, thinking that he was going to a party off-campus, but instead, found himself beat and tortured in an unknown location,” Geraci wrote.

Kollias filed the complaint against the school in 2018 alleging negligence under New York state law. Attorneys for the University filed a motion for summary judgment, which Geraci granted in a decision filed Wednesday.

According to court papers, on the evening of Nov. 28, 2015, then-UR student and football player Isaiah Smith orchestrated the robbery of several non-student drug dealers. He lured them into an off-campus university-owned apartment where they were ambushed by three masked men who were conspiring with Smith.

The masked men assaulted the drug dealers, pretended to assault Smith, stole their money and marijuana, and fled.

According to Geraci’s decision, Smith did not live in the apartment, but he gained access to the building and the apartment without the knowledge of the students who lived there — twin brothers, Ani Okeke Ewo (Ani), and Ugwu Okeke Ewo (Ugwu), who were teammates of Smith.

Within hours of starting an investigation, Smith admitted to Rochester police that he orchestrated the robbery and assault and was charged with multiple felonies.

Shortly after the robbery, a Monroe Community College student named Samantha Hughes contacted Kollias’ friend and fraternity brother, Ani Okeke Ewo via Facebook.

She also sent a separate Facebook message to Ugwu Okeke Ewo, but he ignored the message. Ani replied, believing that Hughes was flirting with him.

“However, in reality, Hughes was connected with … one of Smith’s robbery victims and colluding with (him) to execute a retaliation plot on the erroneous belief that Ani and Ugwu were involved in the robbery,” Geraci wrote.

Hughes and Ani communicated via Facebook and eventually exchanged phone numbers and started texting. Late at night on Dec. 4, 2015, Hughes suggested that they meet up. Ani told Hughes that he would bring Kollias and she said she would bring her friend.

Shortly after 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 5, 2015, Kollias and Ani met up with Hughes and her friend and got into her car. Hughes said she was taking them to a party at 22 Harvest St. But when they went inside Ani and Kollias were assaulted and held captive.

In the early evening of Dec. 5, 2015, Ugwu went to campus police to report that Kollias and Ani had not come home that day and were last seen when they left the frat house.

Campus police and RPD officers identified Hughes, contacted Monroe Community College to obtain her phone number, and convinced her to meet in person with RPD for questioning.

On Dec. 6, after hours of questioning, she revealed the location where she had last seen Kollias and Ani. About 9:20 p.m. that day an RPD SWAT team broke into the house and rescued Ani and Kollias.

In the motion for summary judgment, attorneys for the University thoroughly briefed their arguments opposing all the claims in the complaint, Geraci wrote.

Kollias’s attorney submitted a memorandum opposing the motion but failed to address any of the University’s arguments. Instead, the plaintiff raised a new claim.

“When a party opposing summary judgment fails to respond to the moving party’s argument on a claim, the Court may deem the claim abandoned,” Geraci wrote.

“Since Plaintiff failed to respond to any of the University’s arguments relating to each of plaintiff’s claims, all of plaintiff’s claims in his complaint are deemed abandoned,” Geraci wrote.

“Furthermore, plaintiff is precluded from raising a new claim for relief in his opposition memorandum,” he wrote.

“Accordingly, the Court grants summary judgment in the University’s favor on this basis alone,” he wrote.

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