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Duke Lacrosse Players File Lawsuit Against Duke University and the City of Durham, North Carolina

Over three dozen current and ex-Duke Lacrosse players are suing Duke University, the North Carolina city of Durham, and a number of police and school officers. The federal lawsuit alleges abuse, fraud, and breach of duty during the high profile case, now dismissed rape case against three team members.

The three lacrosse players who were charged, Reade Seligmann, Dave Evans, and Collin Finnerty, are not plaintiffs in this civil case. They have filed their own cases against Durham and police investigators. The three of them reached a settlement with Duke University last year.

The plaintiffs in this latest lawsuit related to the rape case are 38 unindicted players and nine of their family members. They are suing for damages for emotional trauma, invasion of privacy, and other injuries.

In 2006, Seligmann, Evans, and Finnerty were indicted by then-Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong after a woman accused the three of them of raping her at a Lacrosse team party that March. State prosecutors dropped all charges against the three men in April 2007.

Apparently, Nifong and his investigative team had made up and suppressed evidence. The victim continued to change her account of the alleged attack. The federal lawsuit claims that the University and the city abandoned the lacrosse team in favor of protecting the images of the school and the city. The plaintiffs are accusing Duke of disregarding and discrediting evidence that showed the players did not rape the alleged rape victim.

As a result, the players say that they were harassed, abused, and disciplined as if they were already guilty of rape. The University cancelled the lacrosse team?s season.

The players want to hold the city of Durham responsible for Nifong?s actions. The former DA, who has declared bankruptcy and is a defendant in two other lawsuits related to his handling of the rape case was not named in this lawsuit. He was disbarred and spent a night in jail for his actions.

If you have suffered any injuries or losses because of the misconduct or negligence of any person or entity in North Carolina or South Carolina, you may be able to receive personal injury compensation for the harm that you have suffered.

Players allege Duke failed to protect their reputation, CNN.com, February 21, 2008

Duke lacrosse players seek damages in federal lawsuit, USA Today.com, February 21, 2008

Related Web Resources:

McFayden et al v Duke University et al, Justia.com

Duke Rape Case Unravels, CSMonitor.com, December 26, 2006

Full post as published by North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog on February 21, 2008 (boomark / email).