A 12 months after being sued by ex-president Joseph Nyre for alleged breach of contract and retaliation, amongst different claims, Seton Hall College has hit again with its personal authorized motion towards the former chief.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday within the Superior Court docket of New Jersey, the college accused Nyre of “illicitly accessing, downloading, sustaining, and later disseminating confidential and proprietary paperwork, in addition to paperwork protected by the attorney-client and work product privileges, and knowledge after his departure as President of the College.” These paperwork led to crucial reviews in regards to the college’s present president, Monsignor Joseph Reilly.
Alongside Nyre, the lawsuit additionally names John Does 1–10, referring to them as “individuals who’re in possession of paperwork unlawfully maintained, retrieved, accessed, and/or downloaded.”
In a press release to Inside Larger Ed, a Seton Hall spokesperson wrote that Wednesday’s submitting “makes clear that confidential paperwork have been utilized with sections selectively launched, inflicting injury to the College and its management and portray a false narrative about Monsignor Reilly.” Reilly has been accused of failing to report allegations of sexual misconduct and thus violating the college’s Title IX insurance policies.
An legal professional for Nyre blasted the lawsuit as a “cover-up” by Seton Hall.
A Authorized Conflict
Nyre led Seton Hall from 2019 to 2023, when he stepped down unexpectedly.
The former president later sued Seton Hall, alleging he was pushed out by the Board of Regents amid battle with then-chair Kevin Marino, whom Nyre accused of micromanagement, improperly involving himself in an embezzlement investigation on the regulation college and sexually harassing the president’s spouse, Kelli Nyre, amongst different claims. Marino, who’s not a board member, was not named as a defendant in Nyre’s lawsuit, and an investigation discovered no proof of sexual harassment.
Whereas Seton Hall is defending itself towards Nyre’s lawsuit, it additionally threw a authorized counterpunch in suing the ex-president. The college alleges that its info know-how crew confirmed that Nyre had improperly accessed supplies after his departure, and in doing so, he violated confidentiality provisions in his employment and separation settlement.
Particularly, Nyre is accused of improperly downloading confidential paperwork that have been later supplied to Politico. These information—a few of which have been additionally obtained by Inside Larger Ed—appeared to point Reilly, the present president, missed cases of sexual harassment whereas rector and dean of the college’s graduate seminary from 2012 to 2022.
Nevertheless, one of many leaked paperwork in query—a letter from a Board of Regents member to Reilly in February 2020 that stated he had violated college Title IX insurance policies by his inaction—was an unsent draft, college officers beforehand advised Inside Larger Ed.
Seton Hall officers stated within the lawsuit that although the Politico reporter by no means disclosed who supplied him with the paperwork, “it was clear that [Nyre], instantly or not directly, was accountable” for the leak of confidential info to the information outlet between December and February. Seton Hall accused Nyre of making an attempt to “create a misunderstanding about” Reilly, arguing he acted in “dangerous religion and malicious intent” by not disclosing that the February 2020 letter was by no means despatched.
The allegations towards Reilly have prompted requires transparency from state lawmakers and Democratic governor Phil Murphy, who known as on the college to launch an investigative report that allegedly cleared Reilly. Seton Hall has up to now declined to take action, citing the necessity to defend the confidentiality of individuals who voluntarily cooperated with the investigation.
The allegations towards Reilly come because the college is only some years faraway from the sprawling sexual abuse scandal involving former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who sat on each of Seton Hall’s governing boards. Investigators decided in a 2019 college report that McCarrick “created a tradition of concern and intimidation” and “used his place of energy as then–Archbishop of Newark”—which sponsors Seton Hall—“to sexually harass seminarians” for many years. (McCarrick was defrocked however averted prison expenses resulting from a dementia analysis.)
As a part of the lawsuit, Seton Hall is in search of a short lived restraining order to cease Nyre from allegedly sharing extra paperwork. College officers argued in courtroom filings that Seton Hall stands to “endure irreparable hurt” from additional leaks, which “can’t be adequately compensated” monetarily.
“The character of the hurt is such that it impacts the college’s potential to keep up the confidentiality of delicate info, which is essential for its operations and repute,” filings learn. “Furthermore, to the extent that paperwork to which defendant has entry are protected beneath [the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act] or Title IX, the disclosure of such paperwork would instantly implicate the correct of scholars and their mother and father to regulate the disclose [sic] of such confidential academic information in addition to the confidentiality rights of college staff.”
Pushback
In a press release to Inside Larger Ed, Nyre legal professional Matthew Luber known as the lawsuit “a determined, retaliatory ploy designed to silence a whistleblower and distract from the college’s personal corruption and misconduct.”
Luber didn’t particularly tackle the allegations that Nyre had inappropriately leaked confidential paperwork however accused Seton Hall of ignoring crimson flags in hiring Reilly and overlooking Title IX infractions.
“Let’s be clear: Dr. Nyre was not at Seton Hall when Monsignor Reilly engaged in misconduct, nor when the board knowingly violated its personal insurance policies and Title IX to put in him as President,” Luber wrote. “However he was the one who warned college officers about Reilly’s disqualifying historical past throughout his presidential search—warnings that have been intentionally ignored by board management. As an alternative of addressing their very own failures, Seton Hall is now trying to smear and intimidate Dr. Nyre.”
As of publication, a choose has not set to a listening to to think about the request for a restraining order.
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