DURHAM -- Duke University wants its name dropped from a pending lawsuit involving Executive Vice President, Tallman Trask.
Parking attendant Shelvia Underwood is suing the school and trask for a 2014 incident. Underwood claimed Trask hit her with his car and yelled a racial slur because he wanted to access a road on campus that was closed to traffic. She named Duke University in the lawsuit, claiming officials tried to cover up the case. On Tuesday, lawyers for Duke asked a judge to dismiss the school form the lawsuit, leaving Trask as the lone defendant.
"It is very clear, in this case ,that the issues Mrs. Underwood has are with Tallman Trask and the operation of his vehicle," said Dan Hartzog.
Hartzog contends that Underwood agreed to drop the complaint if Trask apologized, which he did. Underwood later pursued the lawsuit. Hartzog essentially argued that Underwood shouldn't get a second bite of the apple and cannot sue because the investigation didn't turned out the way she wanted.
"She said if he apologizes, you can drop the investigation. He apologized and that should be the end of that discussion."
But lawyers for Underwood said Duke University conducted a shoddy investigation and forced her to drop the complaint.
"She subsequently did drop that complaint because she was pressured to do so," said attorney Donald Huggins, Jr.
The case sparked a recent week-long student protest and sit-in at the Allen building on campus. Protesters said the case was indicative of the ongoing racism at the University. They're calling for Trask and two other top administrators to be fired.
"Duke actively worked to cover this up and that's their culpability," said student Mina Ezikpe, who was in court along with other protesters, in support of Underwood.
The judge said he would make his ruling on Wednesday. Lawyers for Underwood said if Duke is dropped from the lawsuit, they will still go after Trask.