Syracuse University is a defendant in four active lawsuits, one of which is set to go to trial in October.

O’Connor v. Syracuse University, a personal injury lawsuit, is set for a pre-trial conference today and will begin trial at the end of October in the Albany Civil Supreme Court, according to court records. The case stems from a fight that occurred after a club hockey game in February 2005, said plaintiff Cornelius O’Connor’s lawyer John Bailey.

Two of the other three cases, Margaret Ryan v. Syracuse University and Richard Kotkin v. Syracuse University, are also personal injury lawsuits. The other case, Green, Kevin and Green v. Syracuse University, is a negligence lawsuit in the Schenectady Civil Supreme Court, according to court records, but further details are unknown. Lawyers for both parties did not return phone calls.

The university declined comment on all four cases.

‘As a matter of policy, the university does not discuss matters in litigation or prior cases,’ said SU spokesman Kevin Morrow.

Personal injury lawsuits are common among large entities such as universities because of the way the U.S. legal system is structured, said SU legal expert Keith Bybee. The U.S. does not have a loser-pays system, in which a losing plaintiff, the person who files a civil suit, must pay for the defendant’s legal fees. The lack of this penalty serves as an incentive for all kinds of cases, he said. He also cited the large number of lawyers available for people.

‘It’s not too much of a surprise that a big organization would face these kinds of cases,’ said Bybee, an associate professor of law and political science and director of the Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics and the Media at SU. ‘It doesn’t tell you that SU is particularly negligent.’

O’Connor v. Syracuse University

On Feb. 11, 2005, the suit’s plaintiff, O’Connor, attended a club hockey game between SU and Slippery Rock University at SU’s Tennity Ice Skating Pavilion because his son was a senior on the Syracuse team, said Bailey, O’Connor’s lawyer. At the end of the game, a fight broke out between an SU student not on the team and a Slippery Rock player who was leaving the ice.

‘Mr. O’Connor attempted to separate the two and was seriously injured when he was caused to fall to the floor,’ Bailey said. O’Connor fractured his leg and ankle. His injuries required surgery and a five-day hospital stay, and he has permanent metal hardware in his leg, Bailey said.

O’Connor is suing to recover his medical expenses and pain and suffering, but has not specified a specific financial amount. Bailey could not provide the cost of O’Connor’s medical expenses but described them as ‘fairly significant.’

‘The theory against Syracuse, in a nutshell, is that they failed to protect a patron at a sporting event, and that their own procedures were not followed in connection with how to handle a hockey game, in particular when a hockey game ends, what is required of Syracuse security people,’ he said.

Bailey said SU maintains it behaved reasonably in terms of providing protection and security. SU’s lawyer Michael Larkin referred comment to the university, which declined comment.

O’Connor is also suing the two people in the fight: Slippery Rock player Matthew DiSanti and former SU student Brian McNiel. Bailey said the case against DiSanti and McNiel centers on the fact that they should not have engaged in fighting, and that McNiel placed himself in imminent danger. He said their case is based on a legal concept that says danger invites rescue.

‘Mr. O’Connor was attempting to rescue the Syracuse student from serious injury by fighting the hockey player,’ he said.

McNiel’s lawyer Peter Cambs said he doesn’t believe there is liability on the part of any of the defendants.

‘It’s an unfortunate situation,’ he said. ‘Mr. McNiel was as much of a victim as Mr. O’Connor.’

Margaret Ryan v. Syracuse University

Margaret Ryan was on a paved area outside Manley Field House Oct. 12, 2007 when she fell because of a ‘defect in the property,’ according to the civil complaint filed with the Onondaga County clerk.

Ryan received an injury of ‘a permanent nature,’ according to the complaint. Her complaint says the paved area she fell on was ‘negligently maintained and was not in conformance or compliance with local codes and ordinances.’

She is suing for unspecified damages. A preliminary conference was held in August, and no further court dates have yet been set, according to court records.

Ryan’s attorney Robert Williams did not return phone calls. SU declined comment.

Richard Kotkin v. Syracuse University

Richard Kotkin was visiting a student at SU when he went to Archbold Gymnasium to play a game of basketball with friends, according to court records.

During the game on the afternoon of Saturday, March 26, 2005, Kotkin jumped to block a shot and fell, fracturing his ankle. He maintains that his fall was due to the floor being unduly slippery, according to court records. SU ‘negligently and carelessly permit(ted) the accident site to be maintained in an unsafe, dangerous and improper condition,’ the civil complaint states.

Larkin deferred comment to the university, who declined comment.

Kotkin is suing for damages of $2.5 million in current and future medical bills and to account for pain and suffering, according to court records.

Kotkin’s witnesses include a friend who saw the fall and the orthopedic surgeon who treated him, according to court records. University witnesses include two students who said in signed affidavits that they played basketball in Archbold on the same day and did not find the floor to be slippery.

The case originated in Nassau County, where Kotkin is a resident, but SU filed a successful motion, which Kotkin’s lawyer fought to transfer the case to Onondaga County. The suit had a preliminary conference in June.

No future court dates have been set yet, but Kotkin’s lawyer Scott Steinberg said all depositions have been conducted.

‘The case is moving along,’ he said.

mghicken@syr.edu

Published on September 28, 2008 at 12:00 pm