Part of civil lawsuit vs. UMS dismissed

BANGOR – A federal judge Wednesday refused to dismiss in its entirety a civil lawsuit filed by two former University of Maine football players against the University of Maine System, the UMS trustees, UM President Peter Hoff and other university officials.

U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock dismissed three of the suit’s 10 counts in an order dated Feb. 23. Attorneys for UMS and other defendants filed the motion to dismiss in July.

It was the latest legal scrimmage between the university and former students Paris Minor of New Jersey, and Stefan Gomes of Massachusetts, that began when the two men were suspended in September 2002 for their involvement in an alleged off-campus assault against a female student.

The civil complaint alleges that the university’s Student Conduct Code Committee denied Gomes and Minor their constitutional right to due process and conducted its investigation, hearing and appeal in bad faith while finding them responsible for violations of the Student Conduct Code.

The two men are seeking a jury trial, compensatory and punitive damages and attorney’s fees.

A motion to dismiss “tests the legal sufficiency of the complaint” wrote Woodcock in his decision issued Tuesday. At this early phase of the legal proceedings, the judge must accept the facts outlined in the case as true and construe those facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs – Gomes and Minor in this instance.

Those exact standards would not apply to other motions that might be filed in the case.

Woodcock dismissed the claim against the defendants for a general denial of Gomes and Minor’s due process rights but let stand much of the count relating to the denial of due process based on the manner in which the hearing was conducted.

The judge also dismissed the two counts claiming the negligent hiring and supervision of David Fiacco, the judicial officer of the Student Conduct Code Committee, and breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing.

In addition to the due process and punitive damages claim, the remaining counts include claims of breach of contract, negligence, defamation, infliction of emotional distress and negligent misrepresentation.

Paul Chaiken, the Bangor attorney representing UMS and other defendants, said Wednesday that Woodcock’s order was “almost as we expected.”

“It was encouraging,” he said. “We’re pleased the court agreed with us on a number of claims and has signaled that there are some substantial hurdles that remain for plaintiffs.”

The facts surrounding how the hearing was conducted are expected to be the central issue in the case. Gomes and Minor claim that they were not provided evidentiary documents in the case or a witness list until the day of the hearing, that a physical partition was placed between them, their attorneys and the alleged victim and that Fiacco asked them if they would waive their due process rights, according to court documents.

The next step in the lawsuit, according to Chaiken, is for the defendants to answer the complaint and for Woodcock to set a schedule for the filing of motions. November is the earliest a trail could be scheduled in the case, he said.

Harrison Richardson, the Portland attorney representing Gomes and Minor did not return phone calls seeking comment.