MSU Student Accused of Assault Hopes His Lawsuit Will Be Given Class-Action Status

PJM:

A Michigan State University student who found his life devastatingly upended after he was accused of assault, sued MSU in December 2018 for failing to give him due process. Detroit Free Press is now reporting that the student is seeking to turn his original lawsuit into a class-action lawsuit. As DFP reports, if he is successful he “could overturn dozens of findings against students accused of sexual assault.”

This particular case took place in February 2018 after the student had what he believed was consensual relations with a female friend. At some point during the encounter, the unnamed student says that he asked the woman if she was okay because she “appeared uncomfortable and was shivering.” The two stopped and she left his room. According to the DFP, “Later that night, [the student] got a text from a friend, who said the woman told her he forced himself onto her. The woman filed an assault report with the Office of Institutional Equity four days later.”

MSU suspended the student for two years, but did so without “offer[ing] him true due process — a chance for a live hearing where he could question his accuser directly.” read more