Three more lacrosse players file suits

Three players not charged in the infamous Duke lacrosse case filed a lawsuit against Duke University, top administrators, fallen prosecutor Mike Nifong, the city and a long list of others.

The suit, filed by Breck Archer, Ryan McFadyen and Matt Wilson, is the latest in a string stemming from the university's handling of an escort service dancer's unfounded allegations that she was gang-raped at a lacrosse team party in March 2006.

In the 400-page complaint, Robert Ekstrand, the Durham lawyer representing the players, lists 35 causes of action that range from negligent infliction of emotional distress to fraud.

The players have listed dozens -- from such high-ranking Duke officials as President Richard Brodhead down to a public spokeswoman for the Durham police department -- as defendants in the suit.

In a statement issued late Tuesday, Duke University described the lawsuit as "another unfortunate result of the misdeeds" of Nifong.

"(T)his suit is misdirected against the university. Duke University reasonably relied on the statements of a prosecutor whose path of destruction could be stopped only by the North Carolina Attorney General," David Jarmul, a Duke spokesman, said in the statement. "Duke made some mistakes when the allegations first surfaced in the spring of 2006. The cause of any harm felt by the players, however, clearly lies with parties other than Duke."

In effort to avoid putting the entire community through destructive litigation, Jarmul said in the statement, Duke offered many months ago to reimburse attorneys' fees and other out-of-pocket expenses to the unindicted players whose lives were disrupted.

"We were and remain disappointed those offers were not accepted." the statement said. "We will aggressively defend the university in this matter."

McFadyen was suspended from Duke in April 2006 after an e-mail he wrote appeared in a search warrant in the Duke lacrosse case.

The player from Mendham, N.J., according to court documents, sent an e-mail message shortly after the infamous team party that started: "[T]omorrow night, after tonights show, I've decided to have some strippers over."

The message went on to talk about how he planned to kill the strippers and cut their skin off, language that President Richard Brodhead described at the time as "sick and repulsive."

Since then, administrators reinstated McFadyen, saying that while the message was in poor taste, it was sent in jest as a take-off of "American Psycho," a Bret Easton Ellis novel about a serial killer that was made into a movie and was a team favorite.

Campus officials said the temporary suspension was out of concerns for the McFadyen's safety during a time when there was heightened public disdain for the lacrosse team, scorn prompted, in part by false statements from Nifong.

In the early weeks after Crystal Gail Mangum's false allegations of gang-rape, Duke canceled the remainder of the lacrosse season.

Mike Pressler, a coach who had built a national powerhouse team during his 16 seasons at Duke, was forced to resign.

Former Duke players Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann fought criminal charges for more than a year before they were exonerated and declared innocent of all charges by State Attorney General Roy Cooper.

Duke settled with the exonerated players and their families this summer, but the details of the deal have not been disclosed. The three players demanded $30 million to settle with the city of Durham. When the city did not agree, Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann filed a federal lawsuit against the city, top adminstrators, numerous police officials and investigators, former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, who was disbarred and forced out of office for his prosecution of the case, and Linwood Wilson, an investigator in Nifong's office.

Pressler settled with Duke in April, but several months ago the coach filed suit in Durham County court saying Duke had reneged on details of their private agreement.

Duke responded to Pressler's complaint this month in a court filing, saying that the disagreement should go before an arbitrator, not a Durham County judge.

Kyle Dowd, a former lacrosse player, filed suit earlier this year, saying a professor gave him a failing grade because he was a member of the team. Neither side would discuss details of Duke's settlement with Dowd other than to say that he received a passing grade for the course.