When Evan Clark was attending Montana State, the roommate assigned to him by the school was so awful that Clark became incredibly depressed — so much so that he eventually overdosed on painkillers.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, Clark and his parents sued the state of Montana claiming MSU engaged in “breach of contract and negligence for failing to provide a safe living environment,” the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports.
The roommate, identified as “Scott” in the suit, allegedly stole hundreds of dollars from Clark, and engaged in “erratic behavior” — like paranoia about the police — and “sexual misconduct.” He also was facing felony charges.
The university would not move Scott out of the room, the suit claims, merely offering counseling to him instead.
After a month of living in constant fear of reprisal, and being subjected to Scott’s erratic behavior and disturbing sexual conduct, Clark went to the Bozeman Police Department to report Scott. Then MSU finally removed Scott from the dorm and placed a restraining order against him.
Clark, suffering from severe emotional distress and depression, was found unconscious in his dorm room and treated for an overdose of painkillers in late November. He stopped going to classes and returned home in December. Clark’s college experience was “severely damaged and ruined,” the lawsuit alleges, and his emotional state has left him with no desire to return to college.
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Asked about MSU’s general policies regarding requests for new roommates, [university spokesman Tracy] Ellig said there are mechanisms for students to bring up their concerns, and the university’s practice is to offer students “reasonable accommodation” of their concerns.
Ellig added that prospective students are asked about any felony convictions, not pending charges, but even a conviction doesn’t automatically exclude a student: “It means the student must provide more information to the Campus Safety and Welfare Review Committee, which decides whether to admit the student, refuse admission, or admit the student with conditions.”
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