Former Duke golfer Andrew Giuliani is continuing his breach of contract lawsuit against the University, The (Raleigh) News & Observer reported Friday.
In the suit, originally filed July 2008, lawyers for Giuliani, Trinity ’09, contend his indefinite suspension from the men’s golf team in Spring 2008 was without cause and thus, the University violated a contract with him as a student-athlete.
U.S. District Judge William Osteen listened to oral arguments from lawyers representing Giuliani and the University for more than an hour Thursday. Osteen was assigned the case in June after the original judge, Wallace Dixon, recommended that the suit be dismissed.
In his decision, Dixon said neither non-binding student policy manuals nor an offer to play varsity sports at a university constitutes a binding contract, because the terms of either one can be changed at any time. Giuliani claims that when he enrolled at Duke, he was promised life-time access to state-of-the-art training facilities, among other benefits he no longer has access to as a result of his dismissal.
The University said Giuliani was dismissed from the golf team by former head coach O.D. Vincent because he damaged golf equipment and got into an altercation with a teammate. Duke is asking the judge to dismiss the suit.
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