Former BYU student settles lawsuit following eviction
Students exit The Village at South Campus on Thursday, March 26, 2015. A former Brigham Young University student is suing The Village at South Campus apartment complex because he said he believes he was wrongfully evicted based on his homosexual orientation. SAMMY JO HESTER, Daily Herald
The Village at South Campus is seen on Thursday, March 26, 2015. A former Brigham Young University student is suing The Village at South Campus apartment complex because he said he believes he was wrongfully evicted based on his homosexual orientation. SAMMY JO HESTER, Daily Herald
Students enter The Village at South Campus on Thursday, March 26, 2015. A former Brigham Young University student is suing The Village at South Campus apartment complex because he said he believes he was wrongfully evicted based on his homosexual orientation. SAMMY JO HESTER, Daily Herald
The Village at South Campus is seen on Thursday, March 26, 2015. A former Brigham Young University student is suing The Village at South Campus apartment complex because he said he believes he was wrongfully evicted based on his homosexual orientation. SAMMY JO HESTER, Daily Herald
SALT LAKE CITY – A former Brigham Young University student has settled with a university-contracted apartment complex he sued after he was evicted on the heels of telling his roommates he was gay.
Andrew David White issued a statement Thursday afternoon through his attorney saying he and The Village at South Campus in Provo reached an agreement. Terms were not disclosed.
White sued the complex and the owner, Peak Joaquin Holdings, accusing the complex manager of orchestrating his eviction after White’s roommates kicked him out and assaulted him after he revealed to one of them his feelings of same-sex attraction.
White said in the statement he stands against the discrimination he suffered at the hand of his roommates but that the complex didn’t discriminate against him. He said the lawsuit was related to landlord tenant law.
An eviction notice included in the lawsuit said White violated BYU’s honor code but didn’t specify which part.
Simply expressing a same-sex attraction is not considered an honor code violation, but acting on it would be, said BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins, speaking generally and not specifically about White’s case.
The eviction notice also said White violated lease policies, residential living standards and the “quiet enjoyment of other residents.”
White and his attorney, Daniel Ybarra, declined further comment on the settlement.
Messages left for Lance Freeman, manager of the apartment complex, weren’t immediately returned.
No attorneys are listed for Peak Joaquin Holdings in court filings.
When White was allegedly assaulted, BYU was notified and opened an investigation that is now complete, Jenkins said. But the school is not disclosing the findings due to confidentially concerns.
White was a student when the incident occurred in January but is no longer enrolled, Jenkins said. He was not expelled for honor code violations, meaning he likely withdrew on his own, she said.
White’s lawsuit said he suffered emotional stress and struggled so much in classes that he’ll need to repeat the semester to get caught up.
He was seeking $101,000 in damages for the financial losses and emotional trauma.
