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Tuesday, April 04, 2006

MIT Case Settled

In a moderately high-profile university legal case whose outcome may hold lessons for the higher profile Duke case, Elizabeth Shin's parents have settled their case against MIT for an undisclosed amount -- but certainly far less than the multiple millions they were demanding in their lawsuit.

Parents who sued MIT over the apparent suicide of their daughter, arguing that the university did not do enough to protect her, have settled the case that riveted college officials nationwide. In a surprising twist, MIT and the parents of Elizabeth Shin now agree that the young woman's death probably was an accident, not a suicide.


The lesson lies in that twist. For years a certain version of this student's death has been out there. Now it turns out that it was wrong. Maybe. Establishing the clear truth of complex events is close to impossible. The Duke thing is far, far more complex.