On Nov. 16, 2015, Pacific University was sued for $3 million. The case, filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court in 2013, allegedly said that a then 20-year-old woman was raped after attending a house party that was allegedly hosted by a student volunteer for the basketball team.
Attorney Greg Kafoury sued the university for negligence in how they handled the alleged sexual assault and Pacific received large media coverage from several news outlets during that time.
A 2015 article published in The Forest Grove News Times was quoted in The Pacific Index saying, “Kafoury said the university expelled the student after the plaintiff threatened to go to the media with the story.”
The Index also goes on to say that the party, which involved intoxicants, was almost exclusively a benefit for athletes.
“[The alleged host] was acting ‘within the scope of his employment’ and a jury could find it work-related,” the article read.
Then, in May 2016, the university filed a motion to dismiss the case and in response, the plaintiff’s complaint was dismissed by the court without prejudice. This allows the plaintiff time for revision before refiling. Last August, the complaint was amended and the university filed a motion to dismiss it once again.
The hearing scheduled to take place last November has now been settled.
“Prior to the hearing on the second motion, the parties mutually agreed to resolve the matter and the court entered the general dismissal on Dec. 19, 2016,” Lesley Hallick, president of the university said. “We believe the university handled the unfortunate circumstances the right way.”
Hallick said that since the agreement includes a confidentiality provision, the university is unable to comment on details of the case.
“I want to be clear that the University will continue to make campus safety for students, faculty and staff a priority,” Hallick said.
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