MORGANTOWN – A nursing student at West Virginia University School of Nursing alleges she was falsely accused of cheating on a final exam.
Shelby Payne filed a complaint in Monongalia Circuit Court against West Virginia University Board of Governors alleging violation of substantive due process and other counts.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff took her final exam in her Adult Health II class May 1. The suit states all students took the exam on a laptop in the classroom and grading was done instantaneously.
She alleges two days later, she received a letter from the professor of the class accusing her of academic dishonesty by allegedly using a cheat sheet during the exam. The suit states the only evidence of this accusation was that another student accused her of cheating and that the professor thought she looked nervous while taking the exam.
The suit states she appealed the decision and was given a zero grade for the exam instead of an unforgivable F, causing a failure of the class. She alleges she now has to retake this class in the fall and cannot take any other nursing classes in her program until the spring semester, delaying her completion of the program.
The plaintiff holds West Virginia University Board of Governors responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to abide by its policies and procedures concerning expulsion and intentionally and recklessly caused her emotional distress.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks an order for writ of mandamus compelling defendant to reinstate her final exam grade of 86 percent, and award for damages, attorney's fees, costs and such other just and equitable relief. She is represented by Edmund J. Rollo in Morgantown.
Monongalia Circuit Court case number 18-C-279