Checkback: Assault lawsuit

Author: Ed Cohen

What happened with the lawsuit filed against the University by the parents of a student who accused four football players of rape?

In June a Saint Joseph County Superior Court judge dismissed the portion of the lawsuit against Notre Dame.

The 22-year-old woman and her parents filed the suit in April seeking an unspecified amount of damages from the University and from four former Notre Dame football players whom she said raped her at the home of one of the players in 2002.

The judge dismissed the claims after the woman and her parents failed to show up for a hearing in June.

Criminal charges were filed against all four of the players after they were expelled (reportedly for sexual misconduct) from Notre Dame, but only one of the accused was convicted. A second was tried and acquitted. Charges against the other two were dropped.

All of the players except the one convicted have countersued the woman and Notre Dame.