The New Haven Register reported Monday that the lawsuit brought by former Yale captain Jack Montague against his former school was dismissed in federal court on Monday.
Attorneys for both parties jointly filed a stipulation to voluntarily dismiss the case with prejudice, according to the Register.
“The parties have resolved the case to their mutual satisfaction,” said Max Stern, an attorney with Boston-based Todd & Weld that represented Montague, in a statement to the Register.
After being found guilty of violating Yale’s sexual misconduct policy in the winter of 2016 and expelled months prior to his graduation, Montague sued the school in June 2016. The suit, which requested a return to the school and monetary damages, claimed the university’s treatment of Montague was “wrong, unfairly determined, arbitrary and excessive by any rational measure,” while accusing the school of breach of contract, Title IX violations, breach of confidentiality and defamation.
No criminal charges were ever brought against Montague.
Following the waiving of a $3,000 tuition debt and the releasing of his transcript by Yale, Montague enrolled in the adult study program of Belmont University to obtain his undergraduate degree. The Brentwood, Tenn. native attended the Nashville university for the 2017-18 school year and was at the university’s school of business to complete a Master of Accountancy degree in 2018-19, according to his LinkedIn page.
U.S. District Judge Alfred Covello in an April 2019 ruling denied Yale’s motion to throw out many of Montague’s claims, including that a Title IX officer improperly coerced the woman involved to cooperate with the school’s complaint that led to his expulsion. The judge, however, tossed out several of Montague’s arguments, including that the school’s actions in both cases were the result of a gender bias against him.
A month later, the Associated Press reported that lawyers for Montague and Yale were preparing for possible settlement talks. The meeting with attorneys was scheduled for May 7 before Judge William Garfinkel in federal court in Bridgeport.
With Monday’s filing, Montague’s case against Yale has been dismissed permanently and cannot be brought back to court,
In the formal legal world, a court case that is dismissed with prejudice means that it is dismissed permanently as a final determination, according to legal aid outlets.
The New Haven Register stated that both sides agreed to bear costs and fees it had incurred during the adjudication process. According to Ashe Schow of the Daily Wire, that suggests the settlement did not include an admission of responsibility from Yale.
In January 2018, Yale settled a lawsuit filed by a former student accusing the university of unfairly expelling him over false sexual assault allegations in 2012. That agreement, according to Tom Conroy, Yale’s Director of Public Affairs & Communications, did not include any payment or change in disciplinary action against the student.
Conroy did not respond to IHO’s request for a statement, as well as a comparison of Montague’s settlement to the earlier 2018 agreement.