FSU in "substantive negotiations" with accuser

[93Noles99]

Jameis Winston accuser's FSU trial pushed back to September 2016
by Matt Baker

The trial between Jameis Winston's accuser and Florida State University has been pushed back to next September, a federal judge ruled late last week.

The federal lawsuit, filed by Zephyrhills' Erica Kinsman, had been scheduled for August but will now take place the week of Sept. 19, 2016, U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker ruled Friday.

Kinsman and FSU asked for the delay in a joint motion, which says they're "also engaged in substantive negotiations" with mediation scheduled for Nov. 24.

Kinsman, a former FSU student, sued the school in January, alleging the university failed to follow its Title IX obligations in how it investigated and remedied her rape accusation against Winston.

Kinsman has also filed a separate lawsuit against Winston, now the Bucs' starting quarterback. A trial in that case has been scheduled for May 2017.

 

[NaplesNole88]

Anyone surprised that Matt Baker omitted that Winston filed a counter suit against Kinsman?

I hope FSU does not settle with Kinsman.

 

[PopsNole]

It's going to settle like almost all cases do. FSU already took the public perception hit from all of this. If it went to court and they won it's just a small blurb in the paper. If they lose then it's a huge deal. You settle and move on.

 

[The WarNole]

What is there for FSU to negotiate if they did things right? Don't give this gold digger a penny.

 

[SchmidtyNole]

It's going to settle like almost all cases do. FSU already took the public perception hit from all of this. If it went to court and they won it's just a small blurb in the paper. If they lose then it's a huge deal. You settle and move on.

I kind of hope FSU doesn't settle on matter of principal. I do know that litigation strategy changes as both parties go through the discovery process. Hard to tell what is going on here. To me it looks worse for FSU if they settle in terms of public perception.

 

[NaplesNole88]

It's going to settle like almost all cases do. FSU already took the public perception hit from all of this. If it went to court and they won it's just a small blurb in the paper. If they lose then it's a huge deal. You settle and move on.

That leaves the school more vulnerable to future false accusations.

 

[atlseminole]

Don't give the skank a penny!

 

[SchmidtyNole]

That leaves the school more vulnerable to future false accusations.

Negotiations aren't only about money. Sometimes you are looking for concessions from the other side too. FSU may be looking for Kinsman to admit some things while Kinsman obviously would rather get FSU to cough up money than risk going to Trial and losing. I just hope FSU doesn't come out looking like the bad guy here.

 

[The WarNole]

That leaves the school more vulnerable to future false accusations.

This Exactly!!!

 

[Dr. Nole]

"" I just hope FSU doesn't come out looking like the bad guy here.""

Judging by how FSU has been treated so far on this issue I am not too optimistic about how FSU will be viewed.

 

[NaplesNole88]

Negotiations aren't only about money. Sometimes you are looking for concessions from the other side too. FSU may be looking for Kinsman to admit some things while Kinsman obviously would rather get FSU to cough up money than risk going to Trial and losing. I just hope FSU doesn't come out looking like the bad guy here.

She has already admitted things, like staying in the same class as Jameis after FSU offered to let her switch classes or drop the class with no penalty. FSU wasn't allowed to talk to her, as per her attorney's directive. She can go pound salt.

 

[ReliableOstrich]

I just hope FSU doesn't come out looking like the bad guy here.

We have a first class PR department that would never allow the school or any of its students to be treated unfairly by the press.

lulz.

 

[SchmidtyNole]

She has already admitted things, like staying in the same class as Jameis after FSU offered to let her switch classes or drop the class with no penalty. FSU wasn't allowed to talk to her, as per her attorney's directive. She can go pound salt.

Are you hearing that FSU is looking to compromise and settle here? Or are they taking a hardline stance for confessions? The whole thing about being in negotiations is concerning to me. I hope they don't give her a dime.

 

[NaplesNole88]

Are you hearing that FSU is looking to compromise and settle here? Or are they taking a hardline stance for confessions? The whole thing about being in negotiations is concerning to me. I hope they don't give her a dime.

I have no inside information. Previous poster suggested there might be a settlement, and Matt Baker seemed to be insinuating it.

 

[SWFNole]

'Substantive negotiations' means next to nothing. Considering this is Matt Baker reporting this, it could mean that Aunt Pat has made an offer to make things go away.

 

[SchmidtyNole]

I have no inside information. Previous poster suggested there might be a settlement, and Matt Baker seemed to be insinuating it.

FSU filed a motion on October 14th to prevent Deposition transcripts from being made public. That is a good sign to me. Why would they do that? Because Clune and Kerr would try to do what they've done for almost 2 years which is cherry pick and spin certain things to try to influence public opinion. They did that with Jameis all the way through the CoC hearing in terms of releasing things that are supposed to be confidential. Yet the outcome always ended up not in their favor. They want to try to influence a potential jury.

I think FSU knows that the facts are on their side and Clune and Kerr want a settlement. FSU will just say "We aren't settling here, just drop the lawsuit and save yourself some money." I have no inside info but to me that is my speculative opinion about what is going on.

 

[Bartdog]

My memory is fuzzy on this, but IIRC, our exposure could come down to how the school reacted when she became uncooperative. AT that point I think the title IX investigation stalled. What we all learned is that it has to go on, regardless of whether the alleged injured person is involved.

Someone correct me if that's wrong.

The way I see it, there is almost no way the media lets FSU off the hook here. If they settle, that's like an admission. If they fight and lose, even worse. Hopefully they can fight and win. In that case, you will hear very little about it I bet.

 

[SchmidtyNole]

My memory is fuzzy on this, but IIRC, our exposure could come down to how the school reacted when she became uncooperative. AT that point I think the title IX investigation stalled. What we all learned is that it has to go on, regardless of whether the alleged injured person is involved.

Someone correct me if that's wrong.

The way I see it, there is almost no way the media lets FSU off the hook here. If they settle, that's like an admission. If they fight and lose, even worse. Hopefully they can fight and win. In that case, you will hear very little about it I bet.

But how can you investigate if the person is not willing to give their story or cooperate? Almost impossible.

 

[SchmidtyNole]

My memory is fuzzy on this, but IIRC, our exposure could come down to how the school reacted when she became uncooperative. AT that point I think the title IX investigation stalled. What we all learned is that it has to go on, regardless of whether the alleged injured person is involved.

Someone correct me if that's wrong.

The way I see it, there is almost no way the media lets FSU off the hook here. If they settle, that's like an admission. If they fight and lose, even worse. Hopefully they can fight and win. In that case, you will hear very little about it I bet.

I disagree. If FSU goes to trial, that trial will draw intense media scrutiny. People who follow it will almost certainly want to know the outcome and find out about the outcome.

 

[Gonolz]

'Substantive negotiations' means next to nothing. Considering this is Matt Baker reporting this, it could mean that Aunt Pat has made an offer to make things go away.

If she had packets, FSU is sure to agree to pay a large sum.

 

[RancheroNole]

eff em and feed em fish heads.

 

[Panama22]

She has already admitted things, like staying in the same class as Jameis after FSU offered to let her switch classes or drop the class with no penalty. FSU wasn't allowed to talk to her, as per her attorney's directive. She can go pound salt.

Makes sense...she has already pounded Peppa.

 

[KYSeminole]

She will walk away with large sums of money from both FSU and Winston. Both will settle and never see the light of day. Her attorneys will get 30-40%, Winston will make millions and life will go on. Anyone looking for her to get hers will be sadly disapointed. As many of you like to say, book it.

 

[Panama22]

She will walk away with large sums of money from both FSU and Winston. Both will settle and never see the light of day. Her attorneys will get 30-40%, Winston will make millions and life will go on. Anyone looking for her to get hers will be sadly disapointed. As many of you like to say, book it.

This post has upset me very much. Am considering suing Warchant, Yahoo Sports, the inventor of the Internet (Al Gore) to start.

 

[JohnnieHolmesNole]

It's going to settle like almost all cases do. FSU already took the public perception hit from all of this. If it went to court and they won it's just a small blurb in the paper. If they lose then it's a huge deal. You settle and move on.

The likelihood of settlement is enhanced by the personality of FSU's General Counsel, who is the person who implemented the "can't say or do anything" policy last year as FSU took endless head punches in the court of public opinion. Our GC basically said "just let them keep punching....maybe they'll get tired and stop."

How classic. Remember that we did not defend ourselves pre-litigation because of concerns about the litigation. But now we are going to settle the litigation anyway. So why all of the pre-litigation passivity??

 

[montconole]

Since this is coming from uncle Pat's mouthpiece, I would bet the negotiations arent going as well as clune wants and this is just a pr piece to make it seem like FSU is caving.

 

[squiffynole]

If this is about whether Florida State University took appropriate action based on media reports I worry FSU has soft spots.

I don't like the argument the alleged victim did not go to the proper authority and there was no duty to facilitate that after first notice. Then the sharing of a police report with Jameis' attorney casts a bad light.

Not saying FSU would not prevail just that making it go away via settlement may be the surest option.

 

[AllNoles]

Who shared a police report? And when? I dint think there was a report to share until 10 months after she refused to talk to police. It was a public record. TMZ and Baker had it. Why would it be any kind of problem for Jansen to have it? Winston wasn't going to do or say a thing until Jansen had it anyway.

I struggle with it is FSU is supposed to have done wrong. But even more I struggle with how little things could have harmed her. If FSU can document its attempts to help her she'd going to have a huge issue with damages.

One thing FSU is likely worried about is fees. Her lawyers get statutory fees if she wins. Even if she wins a little. She could be awarded a nominal sum like 1k by a jury and have her lawyers recover millions. That's likely the bleeding the school is trying to stop.

By the way Winston doesn't have that risk. She doesn't get fees in the tort case.

 

[squiffynole]

Who shared a police report? And when? I dint think there was a report to share until 10 months after she refused to talk to police. It was a public record. TMZ and Baker had it. Why would it be any kind of problem for Jansen to have it? Winston wasn't going to do or say a thing until Jansen had it anyway.

I struggle with it is FSU is supposed to have done wrong. But even more I struggle with how little things could have harmed her. If FSU can document its attempts to help her she'd going to have a huge issue with damages.

One thing FSU is likely worried about is fees. Her lawyers get statutory fees if she wins. Even if she wins a little. She could be awarded a nominal sum like 1k by a jury and have her lawyers recover millions. That's likely the bleeding the school is trying to stop.

By the way Winston doesn't have that risk. She doesn't get fees in the tort case.

Here's what I'm referring to; the article is of course written with a slant even so would this be a concern? I do see it was way after the initial claim.

http://www.foxsports.com/college-fo...olice-hindered-investigation-documents-101014

 

[OrlandNole]

She will walk away with large sums of money from both FSU and Winston. Both will settle and never see the light of day. Her attorneys will get 30-40%, Winston will make millions and life will go on. Anyone looking for her to get hers will be sadly disapointed. As many of you like to say, book it.

How does Winston's countersuit fit into this narrative?

 

[FSULongM]

Here's what I'm referring to; the article is of course written with a slant even so would this be a concern? I do see it was way after the initial claim.

http://www.foxsports.com/college-fo...olice-hindered-investigation-documents-101014

The article means absolutely nothing. It raises no substantiated allegations.

 

[AllNoles]

Here's what I'm referring to; the article is of course written with a slant even so would this be a concern? I do see it was way after the initial claim.

http://www.foxsports.com/college-fo...olice-hindered-investigation-documents-101014

I've read that. It's a hit piece. It points out a few little dings but doesn't balance anything. People get offended about Jansen or the school having police reports, but you realize the accusers lawyer had them and so did TMZ. Why is it that notions of fairness and due process are ignored? Why shouldn't Winston have PUBLIC RECORDS about a claim that is being raised out of the blue 10 months after the accuser demanded it be dropped. And the day after FSU went into second place.

Having records before Meggs is literally meaningless if you have a clue. The reason is because Meggs hadn't even know of the case by then. He never even should have gotten involved. Then again even if the police we sending things out wrongly that's not on FSU.

I don't see a thing in Title IX that's suggests students are supposed to be put at a disadvantage defending themselves just because they have a penis. But that's the crux of the argument. Don't question her. Don't look at inconsistencies. Don't ask fair questions. Just find a way to screw a guy and prevent him from the benefit of legal representation. That suggestion is worthy of a hunger strike if you ask me.

Here's her real problem. She can't prove damages. She can't show that had Casher and Darby been interviewed earlier anything would have changed. She can't show a thing FSU did that harmed her. Like I said the biggest risk is FSU getting dinged a little and paying fees.

I need to jump on pacer and pull up this file.

 

[AllNoles]

How does Winston's countersuit fit into this narrative?

It does not.

 

[SchmidtyNole]

I've read that. It's a hit piece. It points out a few little dings but doesn't balance anything. People get offended about Jansen or the school having police reports, but you realize the accusers lawyer had them and so did TMZ. Why is it that notions of fairness and due process are ignored? Why shouldn't Winston have PUBLIC RECORDS about a claim that is being raised out of the blue 10 months after the accuser demanded it be dropped. And the day after FSU went into second place.

Having records before Meggs is literally meaningless if you have a clue. The reason is because Meggs hadn't even know of the case by then. He never even should have gotten involved. Then again even if the police we sending things out wrongly that's not on FSU.

I don't see a thing in Title IX that's suggests students are supposed to be put at a disadvantage defending themselves just because they have a penis. But that's the crux of the argument. Don't question her. Don't look at inconsistencies. Don't ask fair questions. Just find a way to screw a guy and prevent him from the benefit of legal representation. That suggestion is worthy of a hunger strike if you ask me.

Here's her real problem. She can't prove damages. She can't show that had Casher and Darby been interviewed earlier anything would have changed. She can't show a thing FSU did that harmed her. Like I said the biggest risk is FSU getting dinged a little and paying fees.

I need to jump on pacer and pull up this file.

AllNoles, that is what concerns me: If FSU settles because of the possibility of fees, then it looks like they are admitting liability even if that isn't their intention. Is it possible they would settle but on the condition of public concessions from Kinsman that helps FSU in the court of public opinion. It's a matter of principle. It hurts FSU if they aren't exonerated in this in my opinion. The other thing is if Kinsman publicly admits that she didn't want to change classes, her attorney told FSU to cease and desist while the criminal investigation was going on, and refused to give her story to FSU until August of 2014 as a condition for a settlement, then that would hurt her in her case against Winston too.

What is your opinion on what FSU's angle is in these discussions?

 

[PopsNole]

AllNoles, that is what concerns me: If FSU settles because of the possibility of fees, then it looks like they are admitting liability even if that isn't their intention. Is it possible they would settle but on the condition of public concessions from Kinsman that helps FSU in the court of public opinion. It's a matter of principle. It hurts FSU if they aren't exonerated in this in my opinion. The other thing is if Kinsman publicly admits that she didn't want to change classes, her attorney told FSU to cease and desist while the criminal investigation was going on, and refused to give her story to FSU until August of 2014 as a condition for a settlement, then that would hurt her in her case against Winston too.

What is your opinion on what FSU's angle is in these discussions?

She's not going to admit anything. That's never going to happen. FSU isn't going to win in the court public opinion. That was decided long ago. FSU just needs to settle. There will be a blurb that the case settled and then that will be it for the most part. Keeping the case going does not benefit FSU unless you go to trial and win.

 

[AllNoles]

No easy way out. If FSU settles it will be paraded around by Kimsman and her lawyers as a huge win. It will be ugly for a few months then behind us.

I think FSU is likely talking to Feds to find a way to resolve both cases. That's just my guess though. I would put money on FSU caving though. I wish they wouldn't.

 

[SchmidtyNole]

No easy way out. If FSU settles it will be paraded around by Kimsman and her lawyers as a huge win. It will be ugly for a few months then behind us.

I think FSU is likely talking to Feds to find a way to resolve both cases. That's just my guess though. I would put money on FSU caving though. I wish they wouldn't.

The thing is I'm not in the room for depositions though. If FSU feels it has a rock solid case then I would go ahead and go to trial. If they don't then it send the message that other people and lawyers can do the same thing just to get a payday. It's a matter of principle. If you're in the wrong, you settle. If you're not in the wrong, don't settle. That would just encourage more people to lie and do unethical things to get money off an organization like a public university.

 

[GwinnettNole]

Oh, so that is her name?

 

[AllNoles]

I don't disagree. I just don't think FSU has the stones to stand up on this. It's our version of hunger striking.

 

[FSUTribe76]

I don't disagree. I just don't think FSU has the stones to stand up on this. It's our version of hunger striking.

I agree. For a school with a big time law school (ranked 52 out of the 206 ABA approved schools this year so not bad at all), we definitely do not use it properly. Schools like Stetson and even Nova Southeastern are using their profs, current students and alums to lobby, push around local government, and make life miserable for any enemy whether individual or other schools. FSU however has not thrown its weight around appropriately (See our engineering school problems and UCF having a full research medical school while FSU has a %*%* teaching only primary care med school).