The two sides in the lawsuit alleging hazing within the University of Virginia swim team will meet later this month for a court-ordered hearing to discuss a possible settlement in the case.
The suit is between Anthony Marcantonio, a former freshman on the Virginia swim team, and five of his former teammates, Kyle Dudzinski, Luke Papendick, Charlie Rommel, David Ingraham and Jacob Pearce.
Marcantonio claimed he was hazed by a group of upperclassmen on the team. The five defendants were suspended in the fall of 2014 on accusations of hazing. Marcantonio transferred out to Northwestern, but also brought a lawsuit against the five upperclassmen. You can read more about the original lawsuit in an earlier report here.
Most recently, the five former Cavalier swimmers asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming Marcantonio’s camp hadn’t provided enough evidence to support his allegations. The judge didn’t strike down the entire case but did dismiss some of the charges. You can read more about that here.
Now the two sides are set to meet on March 28th for a settlement conference “for the purpose of conducting discussions, in good faith, towards a compromise resolution of this case,” according to the court document.
Each side will present their side of the story, then will meet confidentially with the Magistrate Judge to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their case and the possibility of (and potential barriers to) a settlement.
If the parties can come to an agreement, a settlement could be reached that day, effectively ending the suit. If not, both sides will prepare for a trial that has been scheduled for this coming September.
Hazing is wrong. Period end of story. Stop making excuses. Stop attacking the victim and calling him names. It’s wrong
Says who? I swam D1, we had a touch of hazing. It brought our class together. Our team was better for it.
Sure, there were some times where I was tired of it, annoyed, but you know what? That’s part of being on the team.
The ‘victim’ here is still an alleged victim, and is still attacking the students he accuses of misconduct, which has NOT been proven at all in a court.
Chris, pay attention to what Joel Lin writes. He had been deadly accurate on the progress and likely outcome of the case, from the beginning. I think he may be surprised that the case has gotten this far, though.
A complete waste of time and money using the court system for this.
Agreed.
This isn’t noteworthy or does it impart anything for a plaintiff to be excited about. All district court cases have a scheduled settlement or arbitration status hearing by rule in front of a magistrate judge (not the trial judge for the case). Such hearings can last but a moment where the parties can enter a mutual request to try to mediate or to appear before an arbitrator, or they can simply state they cannot agree in good faith and will go to trial.
Considering part if this case has already been dismissed after the first motion, I’d be astonished if the defense had any appetites to settle for anything except defense costs in their favor.
I really hope Anthony does not give in & settle on this. If all this hazing really affected him the way he claims it did, he must stand his ground & fight them in court so this doesn’t happen to anyone else ever again!!
My guess is the hazing is like porn, a nebulous definition but recognized after seeing it. Unless I missed something, no trier of fact has ever stated that the conduct rose to the level of hazing. Anthony may have no choice but to settle because he may and probably does not have a case.
Also, this is a civil case, not a criminal one. In most if not all jurisdictions, civil trials are rarely held before the conclusion of a criminal trial. The fact that criminal charges were not brought against the defendants speaks volumes. This may have been a money grab all along.
It was. Money grab and helicopter parents trying to shield their baby from the real world.
Hopefully he gets $1M.. from each. With lawsuits like this it’s no wonder UVA sucks at swimming right now.
Dude chill, these kids probably made some mistakes that were considered tradition, let them learn and let the program change, they shouldn’t be fined 1M each…thats absurd.
I agree man, seems harsh that a few kids will be punished for traditions that have been there for years. Definitely needs to stop if it was seriously taken to the level that was alleged, but it’s a rough break for the kids who probably just reciprocated what they endured themselves in past years.
As someone named Chris, I hope people don’t think this is me.
Chris, I bet you have never been involved in any D1 sport and need to back off these kids. They were just continuing the traditions that have been in place at UVA for decades even when UVA Swimming was at its prime. This is a program that is back on the rise. The past 2 recruiting classes are evidence.
So I guess then, since UVA’s traditions are so strong, that the last 20 years worth of swimmers are going to chip in to cover the legal fees and settlements?
No?
UVA traditions include tearing down teammates when they’re new and weak, but not helping support them when they’re in need? Bet they don’t lead with that one on recruiting trips…..
You have no idea about this case buddy. This kid overreacted in a massive way.
The wussification of America is nearly complete.