A federal court judge ruled Tuesday to not stop a lawsuit filed against Syracuse University in state court by 10 students involved in the Theta Tau videos.

Judge Frederick Scullin’s Tuesday ruling comes as the university faces two separate lawsuits over its response to last spring’s controversial Theta Tau videos. Nine students involved in the videos are anonymously suing SU in federal court, while ten students are anonymously suing the university in Jefferson County Supreme Court.

The federal lawsuit was filed in April, while the state lawsuit was filed in August.

Lawyers for SU attempted to prevent the state lawsuit from proceeding by filing a preliminary injunction in late August. The university’s legal team accused the students of “forum shopping” — choosing a court most likely to provide a favorable outcome – in court documents.

Scullin denied the university’s injunction request Tuesday. In his order, Scullin acknowledged that both lawsuits involved disputes over SU’s disciplinary procedures and decisions, but he said the differences in the two cases were enough to allow them to proceed simultaneously.

The federal lawsuit involves nine SU students disciplined for their involvement in videos showing behavior Chancellor Kent Syverud in April called “extremely racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist, and hostile to people with disabilities.” The students in that suit are requesting $1 million in damages each and that their disciplinary records be cleared, according to court documents.

The state lawsuit is an “Article 78” proceeding, which can be used by plaintiffs in New York state to challenge a university’s internal student conduct review process. The 10 students in the state lawsuit are requesting the judge reverse SU’s disciplinary sanctions — which include one- or two-year suspensions — but are not asking for $1 million in damages each.

Andy Mendes | Digital Editor

James McClusky, the judge in the state lawsuit, previously ruled that SU could not enforce disciplinary action against students in the suit until a hearing that was originally scheduled for Wednesday. That hearing was adjourned until Oct. 17, though.

At least two students who committed “serious violations” of SU’s Code of Student Conduct have been allowed to return to campus after McClusky’s order, according to court documents.

All students in both lawsuits face sanctions ranging from probation to suspension in connection to the Theta Tau videos. Some have attempted to transfer to other schools, according to court documents, but have not been able to obtain SU transcripts without a disciplinary notation.

Lawyers for the students suing in federal court filed a motion earlier this month to drop the case and consolidate their claims in Jefferson County Supreme Court. Karen Felter, Kevin Hulslander and David Katz — all attorneys at the Syracuse-based branch of the Smith, Sovik, Kendrick and Sugnet law firm — are representing the students in the federal and state lawsuits.

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Published on September 18, 2018 at 10:22 pm

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18