Judge erases suit against officials in Tumpkin case
BOULDER» A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against University of Colorado head football coach Mike MacIntyre, athletic director Rick George, chancellor Phil DiStefano and president Bruce Benson that was filed by the woman who accused former CU assistant coach Joe Tumpkin of domestic violence.
Pamela Fine filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver last September against Tumpkin, alleging assault, battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She also filed a suit naming MacIntyre, George, DiStefano and Benson, claiming that they failed to properly address Fine’s allegations against Tumpkin.
While Fine’s lawsuit against Tumpkin remains in place, U.S.
District Judge William J. Martinez granted motions by the remaining defendants to dismiss the lawsuit against them, ruling that the university did not owe Fine a legal obligation because she was not affiliated with the school.
“Defendants’ alleged failure to follow the university’s rules and policies did not increase the risk of harm to (Fine) given that, as someone with no affiliation with or connection to the university, she was not within the group of individuals that the policies were designed to protect,” Martinez wrote in the ruling, which was issued Wednesday.
He later wrote that “Tumpkin could have engaged in the exact same conduct regardless of his affiliation with the university . ... The university and (defendants) provided neither access nor cover for Tumpkin’s alleged conduct.”
Fine’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
CU spokesman Ryan Huff issued a statement on the ruling, saying “We believe that Judge Martinez correctly recognized our employees did not violate the law and that there was no legal basis for the claims against them. In the past year and a half, we have advanced our commitment to preventing sexual misconduct, improved our policies and trainings and promoted a culture that respects and values all of our students, faculty and staff.”
Fine reportedly told MacIntyre on Dec. 9, 2016, that she had been violently abused for the last two years by Tumpkin, who at the time was Fine’s boyfriend and a CU secondary coach.
MacIntyre informed George about the allegations, and George then informed the chancellor. MacIntyre reportedly then gave Tumpkin the contact information for Jon Banashek, a defense attorney whom he eventually retained.
After commissioning a report from an outside agency, Benson and the CU Board of Regents gave DiStefano a 10-day suspension and ordered George and MacIntyre each to pay $100,000 in fines to a domestic violence organization.
While he did dismiss the lawsuits against the officials, Martinez included in his ruling that he was “concerned, however, about the apparent reluctance of the university and its senior athletic staff to take substantial steps to address (Fine’s) allegations until they were publicly reported.”
The Daily Camera broke news of Fine filing a restraining order against Tumpkin in January 2017, and Tumpkin was not suspended until after that report.
“The court’s concerns are redoubled given the context of the emerging national conversation exposing wrongdoers (usually, but not always, male) who use positions of power to dominate and control subordinate individuals (usually, but not always, female),” Martinez wrote. “Nonetheless, the reality is that courts of law intentionally move more slowly than the court of public opinion.”
As for Tumpkin’s criminal case, it has been mired in court as his attorneys debate legal issues surrounding the case. He is set for a review of the case Monday.