NCHERM Expert Witness and Litigation Services Lead to Recent Victory

MALVERN, Pa., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County, Pennsylvania granted summary judgment to Widener University in the wrongful death and premises liability case of Lacey v. Widener University, repelling the plaintiff's efforts to expand institutional liability to off-campus injuries in Pennsylvania.

The National Center for Higher Education Risk Management, Ltd. (NCHERM) partners Saundra K. Schuster and Brett A. Sokolow filed a brief as amicus curiae in this case on behalf of AICUP, the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania.

The NCHERM brief has been posted at http://www.ncherm.org/witness-litigation.html for your access. This is typical of recent effective litigation support and expert witness services NCHERM provides to universities, including:

• Co-counsel to Notre Dame College of Ohio in its response to a Title IX OCR sexual harassment investigation. Ongoing.
• Defense expert to West Virginia Wesleyan University in a campus security and premises liability negligence action for a student sexual assault. Settled with plaintiff.
• Defense expert to a New Jersey school district in a school security and negligence action. Ongoing.
• Plaintiff's expert witness in Padiyar v. AECOM, Inc., an appeal of a student discipline expulsion and allegation of sexual orientation discrimination. Case dismissed on procedural grounds.
• Defense expert to Chi Psi Fraternity in Lanahan v. Chi Psi Inc., a wrongful death, hazing and alcohol action. Settled with plaintiffs.
• Plaintiff's expert witness in Candace Minear v. Sigma Kappa Sorority, Inc., Sigma Kappa Sorority Delta Upsilon Chapter, Sigma Kappa National Housing Corporation, Inc., a negligence action for injuries resulting from a sorority initiation. Settled with defendants.
• Defense team in the US Department of Education and US Department of Justice Clery Act investigations of La Salle University. Successful result.
• Defense team member in an NCAA investigation of a Division I Athletic Program. Successful result.

NCHERM's experts are well-versed in:

• Title VII and Title IX (Equity, Harassment, and Sexual Assault)
• General Tort Liability Issues
• Student Conduct/Discipline (Academic and Non-academic) Issues
• OCR/Clery Act/FPCO/DOJ Investigations and Discrimination Complaints
• Internal Misconduct Investigations

NCHERM's experts represent leadership in the field of higher education through professional associations. Our ranks include one current and two past presidents of the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASJA, now ASCA), a former vice president of the ACPA Commission on Student Conduct and Legal Issues, the current president and president-elect of the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association (NaBITA) and the current president of the American College Counseling Association (ACCA).

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SOURCE The National Center for Higher Education Risk Management, Ltd.