I’m surprised they didn’t do this sooner. The trial with Yale begins in a few months. But now this;
Part of what this does is provide a mechanism for both sides to get an idea how the judge is likely to view things before they go through the expense (and public embarrassment, for both sides) of a full trial.
If Montague wins the preliminary injunction, I would think a settlement that is fairly favorable to him would follow quickly, especially if, as part of the settlement, he agrees NOT to come back to Yale to finish his degree. If Montague loses the preliminary injunction, then both sides know he has a long, tough, expensive slog ahead.
The thing is, I think it’s very unlikely Montague wins this motion, regardless of how the judge is leaning on the merits. To be entitled to the preliminary injunction, Montague’s lawyers must show not only that he is likely to win the underlying case, but also that the harm he suffers from waiting until the case is tried cannot be made good by compensatory damages, and that Montague’s harm outweighs the harm Yale would suffer from having the injunction granted. If I were the judge, even if I thought Montague was likely to win, I would have a lot of trouble with the last two elements.
At this point, Montague has missed two semesters (including last spring, when he was expelled), and will certainly miss one more if he has to wait until the trial is concluded. But he will only miss that one semester before the trial happens. Given everything that has happened to him in the past year, that’s hardly the end of the world. It’s hardly even a blip on the radar, and it’s certainly something that could be compensated with money damages if he ultimately wins. On the other side, ordering Yale to re-admit Montague – during his trial, no less – pretty clearly compromises Yale’s entire disciplinary system. And if Montague is re-admitted, then loses at trial, Yale’s expulsion order will be reinstated, Montague will not obtain a Yale degree, and whatever he has done during the re-admission period will have been a total waste. Finally, it’s not as though letting Montague finish his courses is going to resolve all his issues. There is going to be a cloud over his head, and even winning at trial may not dissipate the cloud. Unless and until he wins at trial or gets a positive sellement, letting him finish his coursework merely takes him from being an accused sexual predator with 32 college credits to being an accused sexual predator with 36 college credits and no degree.
So it’s not a great case for a preliminary injunction. If the judge grants one, it will be because he or she is really leaning hard Montague’s way. Even if the judge doesn’t grant a preliminary injunction, the decision allows the judge an opportunity to telegraph to the parties what the case looks like from the bench. The judge might say Montague is likely to win on the merits, but is not entitled to a preliminary injunction for the reasons I gave. That would certainly be a wake-up call for Yale. However, the judge might also say that he’s not likely to win on the merits, or that the merits seem very close, and he needs to hear testimony and cross-examination before deciding anything. That’s a very different signal
Ahh I wondered about the timing. i think some of the things you say might explain it. Do you think an injunction filed much closer to the actual expulsion would have had more merit or a better outcome e.g. he’s finishing his degree while waiting for the trail…or is this really about his legal “team” trying to determine where the winds fly? He’s got many credits toward his degree, I guess I’m wondering where he could finish his degree comparably if the outcome is in his favor through a settlement but he can’t finish the last year’s credit’s at Yale which is pretty much what happened to UofM when UofM was naughty, UofM cleaned up the kid’s record but the kid couldn’t finish the degree at UofM…but that kid was early in his college career so not much vested in UofM. It’s an interesting case to me because it’s all about Yale and what Yale wanted and what Yale got as an institution.
Yale Daily news article includes this:
I had thought maybe he wanted to be back on campus, but this suggests he just wants to finish.
He probably doesn’t care if he’s back on campus…just wants the degree that he’s so close to completing from the place he has a huge investment. 5 credits is worth fighting like heck for.
Just to clarify, at Yale each course is usually one credit. So this would be the equivalent of five classes.
Yes. The lawyers are definitely doubling down. The injunction request is in the below link…the lawyers are drilling down…I wonder, though, if he would accept a settlement where he has to “give up” the Yale degree…I think not. but it will be known pretty soon now.
http://newbostonpost.com/2016/11/01/expelled-yale-hoops-player-seeks-reinstatement/
Musicmerit…if it’s set up like my undergrad it’s probably 3 or 4 classes and a senior project. Not much really. One semester and a project that generally can be done anywhere, not necessarily on campus.
Thanks for the clarification musicmerit, I was thinking it was only one course plus the thesis since at many schools a class is worth 3 or 4 credits.
The one credit per course was all new to me when my D started. I went to a state school and had 3 or 4 credit classes. I thought others from the same background would be unaware also.
Yes, it is one semester of work, which is what he missed last spring.