The Duke lacrosse scandal produced several separate settlements, all of them financially confidential. Duke University settled privately with the three indicted players — David Evans, Collin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann — in June 2007, and later settled a second suit brought by 38 unindicted teammates in 2013. The City of Durham resolved the players’ federal civil rights lawsuit in May 2014 without paying the players directly, instead making a $50,000 grant to the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission. Former head coach Mike Pressler reached his own undisclosed settlement with Duke in 2010, accompanied by a public apology from the university.
Duke’s Settlement With the Three Indicted Players
Duke announced in June 2007 that it had reached a resolution with Evans, Finnerty, and Seligmann. The university’s public statement said only that the settlement was meant to “eliminate the possibility of future litigation and move forward,” adding that “beyond this statement, the resolution is a private matter among the students, their families and Duke.”1GoDuke.com. Duke Settles With Lacrosse Players
The dollar amount was never officially disclosed. The widely repeated figure of $20 million per player comes from media speculation rather than from Duke or the players. One line of reasoning traces to an IRS tax lien filed against Seligmann in February 2011 that claimed roughly $6.5 million in taxes owed from 2007, the year of the settlement; commentators worked backward from that number to estimate a $20 million payout. Duke has neither confirmed nor denied the figure.2Vanity Fair. Duke Lacrosse Case: Fantastic Lies
The settlement came less than two months after North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper dismissed all remaining charges on April 11, 2007, and declared the three men innocent, finding “no credible evidence that an attack occurred in that house that night.”3GoDuke.com. AG Cooper Dismisses All Charges
Duke’s Settlement With the 38 Unindicted Teammates
In February 2008, 38 unindicted members of the 2005–06 lacrosse team, along with nine of their family members, filed a separate federal lawsuit against Duke, the City of Durham, and various school and police officials. The complaint alleged fraud, breach of duty, invasion of privacy, and emotional distress, and accused Duke of suppressing evidence of innocence and failing to protect the players from harassment.4CBS News. 38 Duke Lacrosse Players Sue School, City
Duke settled that case out of court in February 2013. As with the first settlement, the terms were kept confidential.5Inside Higher Ed. Duke and 38 Former Lacrosse Players Settle Suit
The Federal Lawsuit and Settlement With Durham
In October 2007, Evans, Finnerty, and Seligmann filed a 162-page federal civil rights lawsuit against former District Attorney Mike Nifong, the City of Durham, and more than a dozen police and lab officials. The complaint alleged a coordinated pattern of fabricated evidence, rigged identification procedures, witness intimidation, and suppression of exculpatory material. The players sought compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees, and reforms to the Durham Police Department.6New York Times. Former Duke Players Sue Prosecutor and City Before filing, their attorneys had proposed a $30 million settlement, which the city rejected.7CBS News. Exonerated Lacrosse Players Sue Prosecutor
The litigation lasted years. In 2011, a federal judge denied motions to dismiss the core civil rights claims, allowing them to proceed to discovery, while throwing out several other claims including punitive damages against the city. Durham appealed.8Sports Litigation Alert. Ruling Allows Duke Lacrosse Players to Pursue Civil Rights Claims
The case was resolved on May 16, 2014, when the parties filed stipulations of dismissal. Under the terms, the three players received no monetary compensation from Durham. At their request, the city instead made a one-time $50,000 grant to the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, a state agency that investigates post-conviction claims of factual innocence.9CNN. Durham Settles With Former Duke Lacrosse Players10MetroWest Daily News. Nation in Brief
As part of the agreement, Durham issued a statement reaffirming its concurrence with Attorney General Cooper’s 2007 finding that the three men were innocent. The city also maintained that its police officers had an “obligation to investigate the allegations” and that no city employee “engaged in improper conduct.” Durham emphasized that Nifong, as district attorney, had not been a city employee.9CNN. Durham Settles With Former Duke Lacrosse Players
Claims Against Nifong and His Bankruptcy
Nifong was named individually in the federal civil rights suit. In January 2008, he filed for bankruptcy, listing more than $180 million in liabilities almost entirely from the civil claims. He named Evans, Finnerty, and Seligmann as unsecured creditors owed $30 million each, with other team members listed as additional creditors.11WRAL. Nifong Files for Bankruptcy
A federal judge later ruled that the civil rights claims against Nifong could proceed despite the bankruptcy, holding that if a judgment resulted, the matter would return to bankruptcy court to determine whether his conduct was willful enough to preclude bankruptcy protection.12WRAL. Judge: Duke Lacrosse Suits Against Nifong Can Proceed No judgment ever came. The claims against Nifong were dismissed by stipulation in May 2014, along with the rest of the federal lawsuit, as part of the broader resolution with Durham.13CourtListener. Evans v. City of Durham Docket
Nifong had already lost his law license by then. In June 2007, a North Carolina State Bar disciplinary panel unanimously voted to disbar him, finding him guilty of “dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation” and violations of more than a dozen ethics rules for withholding DNA evidence, lying to the presiding judge, and lying to bar investigators. He resigned as district attorney and waived appeal.14CNN. Nifong Disbarred In August 2007, Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III found him in criminal contempt for withholding exculpatory DNA results and falsely telling the court that a lab report he had turned over was complete, and sentenced him to one day in jail.15CNN. Nifong Found in Contempt
Coach Pressler’s Separate Settlement
Mike Pressler, who resigned as head coach at Duke’s request in 2006, sued the university and former Duke spokesman John Burness for slander. He alleged that university officials made false and defamatory statements about him to the press during the scandal. Duke argued that the dispute belonged in arbitration under Pressler’s employment contract, but a trial court and the North Carolina Court of Appeals both ruled in Pressler’s favor, finding that a settlement agreement signed after his departure had voided the arbitration clause.16Courthouse News Service. Ex-Duke Lacrosse Coach Wins Arbitration Ruling
On March 31, 2010, Pressler voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit. Neither side disclosed the terms. Duke publicly apologized to Pressler for “adverse consequences” resulting from two media stories.17ESPN. Pressler Drops Lawsuit Against Duke
Why the Numbers Remain Unknown
Every settlement reached in the Duke lacrosse matter — the 2007 agreement with the three indicted players, the 2013 agreement with the 38 unindicted teammates, the 2010 agreement with Pressler, and the 2014 federal resolution — was confidential as to dollar terms. The only public, specified payment in the entire set is the $50,000 grant Durham made to the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission. Figures that circulate for the Duke payouts, including the $20 million per player number, are media estimates, not disclosures from the parties.
Evans, Finnerty, and Seligmann went on with their lives after the settlements. Evans earned an MBA from the Wharton School and joined the investment firm Apax Digital in 2009 as a partner. Finnerty transferred to Loyola University Maryland and continued to play lacrosse. Seligmann transferred to Brown University, graduated in 2010, earned a law degree from Emory University in 2013, and has worked as a senior associate at the law firm Alston and Bird.18People. Duke Lacrosse Scandal: What to Know