Tuesday, January 11, 2011

A Curious Comment

This anonymous item, from the common thread: "Robert King Steel (Board Chair of Trustees in 2006) has been heard in and around Greenwich, Connecticut of late, claiming 'he knows something happened in the house that night.'"

If true, the ex-Board chairman's remarks could be considered a breach of the falsely accused players' settlement with Duke. But, of course, this is nothing more than an anonymous comment. I tried to reach Steel for a comment, but his office indicates availability only through the first-class mail.

Accordingly, I'm urging the person who left the comment to contact me directly, at kcjohnson9@gmail.com.

5 comments:

  1. Is Steel a Communist?

    ReplyDelete
  2. "the accused players’ improbable turn as victimized solid citizens was the most unpleasant result of the D.A.’s bungled case."

    From an article "The Hazards of Duke" in Atlantic Magazine by
    By Caitlin Flanagan
    link: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/01/the-hazards-of-duke/8328/1/

    ReplyDelete
  3. If the settlement between Duke and the three defendants was to be re-opened (and hence a suit commenced), could it be begun in a jurisdiction other than in North Carolina?

    If so, it would not then be under the control of Judge Beaty.

    The three defendants and Steel all would be closer to New York than Carolina. (And with one or two exceptions, none of the Duke trustees live in Carolina.)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Short answer: NO. A Release is drafted to be a permanent and complete end to claims between the parties, for damages arising from a given incident or set of incidents -- it is not specific to jurisdiction. And the release would apply to all agents of the defendant(s), wherever they happen to live. Why would any defendant sign a release (and pay-off on it) if suit could be brought elsewhere, the next day?

    Your question might have been inspired by what happened with Coach Pressler, but his later suit was based on conduct that occurred post-settlement, and in specific violation of the settlement agreement.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Is Steel a communist??? That's hilarious.

    ReplyDelete