Five students file civil suit against Life University
By MARY MACDONALD
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer
Five students at Life University have filed a civil lawsuit against the university and former president Sid Williams, saying both were negligent in losing accreditation of the chiropractic program.
The lawsuit filed in Cobb County Superior Court may be the first of several lawsuits filed by students against the Marietta university, which lost accreditation of its largest degree program in June.
The suit was filed by students Peter Scire, Joshua Hess, Rodney Schultz, Chris Faler and Anthony Strangelli. It seeks damages for breach of contract and negligence. The case will be heard by Judge Dorothy Robinson.
A similar lawsuit will be filed next week on behalf of eight other students, said Atlanta attorney Cary King, who represents the 13 students.
The university has appealed the decision of the Council on Chiropractic Education. Accreditation continues while the appeal is heard.
A hearing on the appeal is scheduled Oct. 20.
Neither Williams nor his attorney could be reached for comment Wednesday.
Through a university spokesman, interim President Michael Schmidt declined to comment on the lawsuit. Spokesman Will Hurst said the chiropractic program remains accredited on appeal. "Any claim of damage due to the loss of accreditation is premature," Hurst said.
Charles Ribley, a Michigan chiropractor who is president of the university trustees, said the board acted appropriately during the yearlong probation. He said he was surprised when the program lost its accreditation and is confident it will be restored. He had not seen the lawsuit, but disputed its basic premise.
"I don't feel the board was negligent in any way," Ribley said. "I don't know that anybody was negligent."
Over the yearlong probation, he said, Williams offered repeated reassurances that the problems were being corrected. "The only thing I've ever heard from Dr. Sid was that everything was OK," Ribley said.
Peter Scire, a former student who is among the five plaintiffs, said the trustees gave too much power to Williams, who failed to correct the problems cited by the accrediting agency. Scire said it doesn't matter if the chiropractic program regains accreditation on appeal, because the university's reputation is damaged.
"The quality of the education we got was inferior," said Scire, who stopped taking classes last month. "President Williams and the board just went astray." The lawsuit cites Williams as a defendant specifically, Scire said, because "the buck stopped with him."