Summary judgment in favor of their client, a University

DAN HARTZOG (Raleigh) and a former Cranfill Sumner attorney obtained summary judgment in favor of their client, a University, in a case where the plaintiff, a student at the school, was paralyzed during an altercation at an alleged off campus fraternity party.  The plaintiff asserted that the University had a duty to protect him and that this duty was breached by the University’s alleged failure to adequately monitor and control the actions of its fraternities and students at off campus parties.  The University denied that it owed plaintiff a duty to protect him from the harm alleged in the case.  The University also denied that it breached any obligations to its students.  In ruling in the University’s favor, the trial court ruled that the University did not have a legal duty to protect the plaintiff from the conduct involved in the case.