A wrongful death lawsuit filed against Seton Hall by the parents of late SHU student Kristen McCartney was dismissed on Tuesday, Jan. 7, following federal judge Susan Wigenton’s decision that the statute of limitations had expired.
McCartney died after experiencing a seizure in September 2021, according to northjersey.com. The 19-year-old student was a sophomore diplomacy and international relations major who, at the time, was in a COVID-19 isolation dorm on campus. The opinion for the dismissal stated that SHU knew of McCartney’s 2011 epilepsy diagnosis and that she had suffered two seizures on campus, one on Dec. 1, 2020 and another on Jan. 31, 2021.
Plaintiffs Donna Dockery and Sean McCartney alleged that despite the university’s knowledge of their daughter’s health condition, she was left alone for the 10-day isolation period as part of a university-wide “Restart Plan” amid the pandemic and did not have proper health and safety checks.
In the immediate aftermath of McCartney’s passing, SHU’s president at the time, Dr. Joseph Nyre, said that the university was “anguished” at the loss of a student.
However, Dr. Nyre would find himself implicated in the initial complaint filed by the plaintiffs in May 2024. According to the New Jersey Law Journal, McCartney’s parents alleged wrongful death and gross negligence against Nyre and the university, as well as the Board of Trustees and Board of Regents, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, chair of the Board of Trustees and the Archbishop of Newark, and Diane Lynch, the director of Health Services.
Judge Wigenton found that the “plaintiffs [had] not offered a reasonable explanation for their untimely complaint” because Dockery and McCartney filed their complaint more than two years after their daughter’s death, the Law Journal added.
Kristen McCartney's memorial plaque on SHU's Green | Photo via Alpha Omicron Pi | The Setonian
The Law Journal also said that Dockery and McCartney claimed they delayed their lawsuit against SHU because they were awaiting “critical information” from the university regarding questions surrounding their daughter’s death that they alleged were being “fraudulently concealed.” Judge Wigenton discarded this explanation since an attorney represented the plaintiffs, the article stated.
According to northjersey.com, McCartney’s parents have 30 days to file an amended version of the lawsuit, but it is not clear if they intend to do so.
A sister of Alpha Omicron Pi (ΑΟΠ) and a well-regarded soccer player, McCartney would have graduated from SHU last year. “Purple Week” is held in her honor and seeks to raise awareness for epilepsy and raise money for the Epilepsy Foundation.
Jacqueline Litowinsky is the head editor for The Setonian’s News section. She can be reached at jacqueline.litowinsky@student.shu.edu.
