Quinnipiac Student Sues For "Severe Beating" Sustained on Campus

If you have a question or concern about special education law, school administration, federal standards, or the overall rights of a student, please feel free to call the expert education law attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport today at (203) 221-3100 .

In the case of Bendowski v. Quinnipiac College, a student sued another female student and the college for personal injury claims. Allegedly, the student’s roommate sexually assaulted the female student. As a result, the female student’s cousin allegedly inflicted a severe beating upon the roommate. When the student tried to intercede, the cousin inflicted upon him the injuries at issue in this case. The college and female student sued for summary judgment, which is a preemptive decision by the court in favor of one party over the other.

The college and the female student sought summary judgment as to certain counts, contending that there were no disputed issues of fact as to those counts and they were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. As to the female student, the issue was whether she was entitled to summary judgment on allegations that she failed to use reasonable care in allowing her cousin to visit her and remain overnight, in disclosing sufficient information to identify and locate the roommate, and in leaving the cousin unsupervised. The court granted summary judgment to the female student, holding that the materials submitted in connection with summary judgment resolved all of these factual assumptions in her favor. The court concluded that the cousin gave no indication of his intentions to harm the roommate, and the student was an unidentifiable victim of the cousin as far as the female student could reasonably have told. The court denied summary judgment to the college on the complaint that, as a landlord, the college breached its warranty of habitability by maintaining a defective condition, namely inadequate security, and that this defect caused the student's injury.

The court granted the female student's motion for summary judgment on certain claims of the student. The court granted the college's motion for summary judgment on the reckless misrepresentation count and the recklessness count. The court denied the college's motion for summary judgment on the remaining counts. “Quinnipiac College made numerous representations about its security in its Student Handbook, including the statements that it "strives to provide a safe and secure environment;" provides security 24 hours a day, seven days a week; conducts regular foot patrols of all of the residential buildings; and conducts regular checks of all residential buildings” said the court. “There is, however . . . ample evidence that [the female student’s cousin], an outsider, was able to get into the dormitory room unimpeded by any security measures.”

If you have a child with a disability and have questions about special education law, please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq., at 203-221-3100, or at JMaya@mayalaw.com, to schedule a free consultation.

Source: Bendowski v. Quinnipiac College, 1996 Conn. Super. LEXIS 2589 (Conn. Super. Ct. Oct. 1, 1996)