Seaton files suit against Penn and Campus Copy

More than two weeks after he went public with claims of a racially motivated assault at Campus Copy Center, doctoral student Gregory Seaton is taking his case to court. Seaton, a second year student in the Graduate School of Education, filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday against Campus Copy Center, the employees who allegedly attacked him, the University and Professor Erling Boe, who was in the store during the April 2 incident. The suit claims that Seaton was the victim of assault, battery and civil rights violations. "We want to clear the record," said Damon Pace, Seaton's attorney. "It seems as if there's been some question as to whether Mr. Seaton was the aggressor or Campus Copy was the aggressor. We want to set the record straight." The lawsuit comes just days after University Police completed an investigation, which kept the incident classified as a simple assault. The final police report noted that the incident boiled down to irreconcilable differences between Seaton's account and that of Campus Copy officials. "We believe they did not investigate properly and there was no excuse for them not to make an arrest on the date and time of the incident," Pace said. Seaton's allegations first circulated campus two weekends ago, after his first-hand account of the alleged assault was sent to several campus e-mail listservs. The day of the incident, Boe and Seaton were awaiting service at Campus Copy when Ron Shapiro, the son of store owner Stan Shapiro, came out from a rear office and began to serve Boe instead of Seaton, who had arrived first. According to Seaton's claims, when he demanded to be served, several Campus Copy employees jumped over the counter and assaulted him. Ron Shapiro has stated that serving Boe first was simply a misunderstanding, while Seaton, who is black, claimed it was a racially motivated action. In addition, Campus Copy officials maintain that it was Seaton who resorted to violence first. In the days following, student groups mounted protests in front of Campus Copy and circulated petitions admonishing the store for its poor customer service. Campus Copy representatives eventually signed a letter of apology for its preference of Boe in serving customers and for its overall handling of the situation, and pledged to undergo sensitivity training. Seaton's lawyer, however, added that he wanted to see an improved policy concerning area vendors and student complaints. "We believe that sometimes statements are made and they are swept under the rug after the rancor dies down," Pace said. Robert Mozenter, Shapiro's lawyer, said that the allegations "look like a bunch of nonsense." "Many of the allegations just aren't true," Mozenter said. "Our position is that this is a man who has been in business since 1959... He's a man who has served the Penn campus faithfully for 40 years." Seaton's lawsuit also claims that the University failed to respond to previous complaints by minority students concerning Campus Copy. "[The] University earned a reputation of declining to competently investigate or to act with respect to the said complaints, thereby creating a climate that encouraged unlawful racial discrimination... " the lawsuit read. Pace added that he believes the long-term business relationship between Penn and Campus Copy, a privately-owned company, placed some responsibility on the University. "We do believe that because of the ongoing business relationship... they held an esteemed relationship with the University and students can only go there for some materials," Pace said. "We believe they are so related that [the University] is also liable." Campus Copy is the major provider of course bulkbacks required by many professors throughout the University. Penn has denied all of Seaton's latest claims. "The University's counsel has had an opportunity, briefly, to review the complaint filed by Mr. Seaton's lawyer," Penn spokeswoman Lori Doyle said. "The allegations against the University and Dr. Boe appear groundless and the University will defend against the lawsuit vigorously." Law School Professor Anita Allen-Castellitto said the University's liability could depend on its official relationship with Campus Copy. "If the University were in control of the copy center and its employees it might be somewhat responsible," she said. "But if it just has a business relationship it would not normally result in shared liability." Campus Copy is not affiliated with the University. Mozenter once again dismissed the allegations. "Some of the allegations are incredible and did not happen," he said. "This is not a racial incident. [Shapiro] is a civil libertarian and to make allegations of race is destroying a good man's reputation." Additionally, the lawsuit claims that Boe was negligent because he failed "to make reasonable effort to disclose that plaintiff should have been served" first, and for not intervening when the employees allegedly assaulted Seaton. Boe declined to comment. "We're not claiming he physically assaulted Mr. Seaton," Pace said, "but we are claiming he was there as a representative of the University and his inaction created the situation and there's liability on his part."