A federal judge dismissed, for the second time, a lawsuit against Seton Hall filed by the parents of a student who died in COVID isolation in 2021.
Judge Susan Wigenton dismissed the case by plaintiffs Donna Dockery and Sean McCartney, who filed an amended complaint on Aug. 20. The complaint was dismissed with prejudice. The plaintiffs asserted that SHU’s restart plan and online statements formed a contract that the university broke with McCartney’s death.
During this 10-day quarantine, McCartney was joined by her roommate, who tested positive for COVID the day before. Her roommate was cleared to leave their shared isolation room on Sept. 19— leaving McCartney alone without any help in case of a seizure.
The case was previously dismissed on Jan. 7, following Judge Wigenton’s verdict that the statute of limitations had expired. The opinion for the January dismissal said she had suffered two seizures on campus, one on Dec. 1, 2020, and another on Jan. 31, 2021, emphasizing that SHU knew of McCartney’s 2011 epilepsy diagnosis.
McCartney was a sophomore studying diplomacy and international relations who was placed in a COVID-19 isolation dorm in Neumann Hall. She died after experiencing a seizure in September 2021, according to northjersey.com.
In an email to the University community after her death, University President at the time, Joseph Nyre, shared a message from McCartney’s parents.
“For everyone in the Seton Hall community who loved our daughter and took time to know her, we say thank you from the very bottom of our hearts,” they said. “She loved being a Pirate.”
Kristen’s Krew is an organization created in 2023 in honor of McCartney, run by her parents. Kristen’s Krew will be holding events for the Kristen McCartney Perseverance Scholarship fund from Oct.10 through Oct. 12. One event will be the first annual 5K on Oct. 11 in Concord, North Carolina, to honor her “memory, her spirit and her perseverance.”
The 19-year-old, a sister of Alpha Omicron Pi (ΑΟΠ) and an admired soccer player, was on track to graduate two years ago, according to The Setonian. She would have turned 24 this November. “Purple Week” is held in her honor and seeks to raise awareness for epilepsy and raise money for the Epilepsy Foundation.
Sofia Kasbo is the Managing Editor of The Setonian. She can be reached at sofia.kasbo@student.shu.edu.
