[UPDATE 5/27/2022: Prof. KC Johnson (Brooklyn College-CUNY), who has studied this area closely, reports to me that "this is the broadest state court" decision interpreting state law in favor of the expelled student in such cases.]
From today's decision in Doe v. Univ. of Denver, decided by the Colorado Court of Appeals (Judge Michael Berger, joined by Judges Jaclyn Casey Brown and Sueanna Johnson):
John Doe appeals the district court's summary judgment in favor of the University of Denver (DU) … that culminated in John's expulsion for non-consensual sexual contact with Jane Roe….
We hold that DU's OEO Procedures regarding student sexual misconduct investigations are sufficiently certain to be enforced under Colorado contract law. We also hold that a private educational institution owes a [tort law] duty, independent of any contractual promises, to adopt fair procedures and to implement those procedures with reasonable care when investigating and adjudicating claims of sexual misconduct by one student against another….
In fall 2015, John and Jane enrolled as undergraduate students at DU. In January 2016, they began a romantic relationship in which they sometimes spent the night with each other but did not engage in sexual intercourse. In February 2016, the relationship cooled, and they interacted with each other less often.
