Dismissal of Undergrad’s Suit Against Northwestern Upheld
The February 2014 lawsuit filed by a Northwestern University undergraduate claiming that the university “didn’t respond adequately after she reported being sexually assaulted by philosophy Prof. Peter Ludlow,” dismissed in November, had its dismissal upheld this past Thursday in response to a motion by the undergraduate to reconsider the decision. The Daily Northwestern has the story.
I, quite literally, have no opinion on the merits of this suit, but will point out that “motions to reconsider” are almost always losing propositions, so not too much should be inferred from this particular development. A motion to reconsider essentially asks a judge to accept that he or she got things fundamentally wrong the first time. This _sometimes_ happens, but as you can guess, most judges are not extremely open to the idea that they completely messed things up. people are much more likely to win on appeal than have a motion to reconsider granted. An appeal is the likely next step, if the undergraduate in this case wants to, and is able to, press further, but very little about the merits should be inferred from this particular decision. (And again, my statement here isn’t about the merits at all, just the procedural posture. I have no opinion on the merits.)