Fitzsimmons Law Firm Obtains Summary Judgment on Behalf of Former WVU President

Robert P. Fitzsimmons and the Fitzsimmons Law Firm recently obtained a summary judgment on behalf of the former President of West Virginia University. Dr. Cyril M. Logar and R. Stephen Sears were professors and department leaders at West Virginia University and as a result of the Heather Bresch (daughter of former Governor and cuurent United States Senator Joe Manchin) scandal were sanctioned following an independent investigation of their involvement. Logar and Sears filed a claim against West Virginia University and various individuals including the former president of the university alleging claims under 42 U.S.C. §1983 and other claims.

All of the defendants filed motions to dismiss alleging that the statute of limitations had been violated. The United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia granted the defendants' motion after converting it to a summary judgment. The plaintiffs, Logar and Sears, appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which affirmed the dismissal of plaintiffs' claims / summary judgment thereby dismissing all of plaintiffs' claims. The Fourth Circuit's opinion is unpublished.