Fulginiti Law Founder Says Cornell Lawsuit Raises Larger Questions About What Universities Do With Warning Signs

Nationally-renowned institutional abuse lawyer Ken Fulginiti says allegations involving fraternity members put a spotlight on institutional responsibility before — and after — reports of serious misconduct

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A lawsuit filed by a former Cornell University student who alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by fraternity members is drawing attention not only because of what she says happened that night, but because of what she alleges the university knew and how it responded.

Ken Fulginiti, founder of Philadelphia-based Fulginiti Law and an attorney who represents survivors in institutional abuse and negligence cases, said that distinction is critical.

“When something terrible happens inside an institution, you have to look at more than the incident itself,” Fulginiti said. “Were there warnings? Who knew about them? Did that information reach somebody who could act? What system is in place for survivors to come forward? Who is charge of the process? And hundreds more questions arise that tell you how and why this may have been prevented.”

The former Cornell student, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, filed suit Sept. 14. She alleges that seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity sexually assaulted her at a fraternity house in October 2024 after she was pressured to consume drugs and alcohol.

The filing is a civil filing against the individual students and Cornell, and now the discovery process gets underway regarding Jane Doe’s allegations and the various defendants’ alleged defenses to the suit. The discovery process will be dynamic with what could be over 50 depositions and thousands of pages of documents. Jane Doe alleges that the university knew or should have known about risks involving drug use and sexual misconduct connected to Greek life and failed to adequately protect her.

While the DA in New York previously elected to not pursue criminal charges, a recent report indicates that the criminal investigation has been reopened.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said Monday that his office intends, with Jane Doe’s cooperation, to present the case to a grand jury and reexamine whether additional evidence exists that could change the office’s original assessment of the case. Van Houten also acknowledged that his office relied on the investigation conducted by Cornell University Police in 2024 and did not independently investigate the allegations.

Van Houten said a screenshot of part of a Snapchat group conversation cited in the civil complaint was never provided to his office. Jane Doe’s attorney disputes that account and says the messages were provided to authorities in 2024. Her attorney has also criticized the lack of follow-up with Doe by someone specially trained to speak with abuse survivors.

Among the civil allegations drawing attention is Doe’s claim that some accused students were allowed to mitigate disciplinary consequences by writing essays. Cornell has said federal privacy law limits what it can disclose about individual disciplinary outcomes. The university says its investigation has concluded, that the Xi chapter of Chi Phi remains barred from campus and that violations of university policy can result in sanctions including suspension or expulsion.

Cornell issued a new statement Monday supporting the district attorney’s decision to provide an opportunity for Doe’s allegations to be heard by a criminal grand jury. The university also provided additional details about its own Title IX process, saying its investigation lasted several months and ultimately went before a panel of trained faculty and staff for a multi-day hearing. Cornell said the resulting sanctions included expulsions and suspensions.

Cornell also responded directly to the allegation involving essays. The university said none of the individuals charged was offered the opportunity to write essays as the sole consequence of their involvement and rejected suggestions that only minimal consequences were imposed. Doe’s civil complaint alleges that fraternity members “were afforded the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell.”

While all allegations, and defenses, need to be proven in Court, the allegations in this case illustrate a horrific and recurring fact pattern, young woman sexually abused on college campuses.

“Institutions are big. Information gets divided up,” Fulginiti said. “One office may know about a complaint. Someone else may know about drug activity. Another person may have dealt with an earlier disciplinary problem. The danger is that everybody knows a little bit and nobody sees the whole picture.” There needs to be a coordinated effort with professionals specially trained in this area to address this topic at any organization and/or institution.

New York courts have previously considered when a university’s knowledge of dangerous student conduct can create a duty to respond. In the 2023 case Brown v. University of Rochester, a state appellate court held that a university can have a duty to take appropriate responsive action after receiving reports of criminal conduct against students on campus by other students.

The issue has particular resonance at Cornell because the university has recently undertaken its own examination of campus sexual misconduct.

In Cornell’s 2025 Survey of Sexual Assault and Related Misconduct, 35% of undergraduate women who responded reported experiencing nonconsensual sexual contact during their time at the university. Cornell cautioned that the survey had a substantially lower response rate than its 2023 survey, making direct comparisons difficult.

Cornell subsequently created a Presidential Task Force on Campus Sexual Assault. Its recommendations, released in March, addressed prevention, education, reporting and institutional accountability, including additional programming involving fraternity and sorority life.

Fulginiti said the existence of policies, reporting systems and disciplinary procedures is only part of the equation.

“You can have a 50-page policy that says all the right things,” he said. “The real test comes at 2 o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon when a complaint lands on someone’s desk. What happens next? Does somebody listen? Does somebody check whether there have been other reports? Does the information go where it needs to go? That’s where institutional safety actually lives.”

For Fulginiti, that is also why the disciplinary allegations in the Cornell case deserve careful examination as the allegations would suggest a very light handling of a very serious situation.

“Discipline isn’t only about what happens to the person accused of misconduct,” Fulginiti said. “It should also be about protecting the next person. If something needs to be addressed, then it needs to be addressed timely, professionally, and definitively."

This case highlights a serious and national problem. It is horrific that anyone is exposed to this-type behavior and hopefully, at a minimum, the attention to this case will serve as a wake up call nationally to reevaluate policies, procedures and information and hire competent individuals to address an egregious problem.

Fulginiti said the larger issue extends well beyond universities and fraternities.

“Schools, religious organizations, youth programs, care facilities — any institution responsible for other people eventually faces the same issues,” he said. “You cannot guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen. But when warning signs start coming in, you need to know what to look for, have a system that recognizes them and people willing to act.”

About Fulginiti Law

Fulginiti Law is a premier Philadelphia-based firm dedicated to representing victims of catastrophic injury. With over 35 years of experience, the firm’s founder has built a remarkable track record in complex cases involving product defects, premises liability, construction accidents, and trucking collisions, among other-type cases.

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