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Xavier looks to dismiss claims in Dez Wells lawsuit

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The Dez Wells saga is still ongoing at Xavier University. In August of 2012, Wells was expelled from Xavier after being accused of sexual assault. However, there was little evidence and no charges were filed. A prosecutor even called the expulsion “fundamentally unfair.”

Wells eventually landed at Maryland was granted eligibility to play last season. This past August, a year after his exit from Xavier, Wells filed a lawsuit against the university and its president Father Michael Graham. On Oct. 2, Xavier filed a motion to dismiss some of the claims in that lawsuit, according to the Washington Post, which obtained court documents.

Xavier is looking to dismiss eight of the 10 claims, according to Alex Prewitt.

Since the lawsuit was filed, Xavier has stood by its judicial ruling, promising to “vigorously defend the process and the decision” in an August statement. Despite declining to include two claims, the first footnote on Xavier’s dismissal motion “unequivocally denies” that the remaining unaddressed claims “have merit” and promises that when “procedurally appropriate, Xavier and Fr. Graham fully intend to move for judgment in their favor on any remaining claims.”

In the subsequently filed “memorandum of law in opposition,” Wells’ legal team argued that a botched discovery process and university judicial system resulted in a hasty verdict “as a result of its deliberate indifference to the evidence.”

“At a minimum, a question of fact exists as to whether Father Graham’s support for the flawed investigation and adjudication of this matter was motivated by a gender-driven bias against males,” the opposition reads.


Wells averaged 13.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in his first season at Maryland. He and the Terrapins on Friday against UConn at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.