TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – An appeals court Monday upheld a decision to dismiss a lawsuit stemming from an alleged hazing incident at Florida A&M University.
Former student Aisha Sylvain filed the lawsuit after being suspended for involvement in an alleged sorority hazing incident in 2013, according to a 2014 news release from a law firm representing Sylvain.
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She was initially dismissed from the university for five years, but the penalty was later reduced to a two-semester suspension, said the ruling Monday from the 1st District Court of Appeal.
A Leon County circuit judge dismissed the lawsuit, finding that Sylvain failed to "exhaust her administrative remedies" before filing the case, Monday's ruling said.
A three-judge panel of the appeals court backed the circuit judge's decision.
Hazing became a major issue at Florida A&M after the 2011 death of drum major Robert Champion during a hazing ritual involving university band members on a bus.
Monday's ruling in the Sylvain case came three days after the 5th District Court of Appeal upheld convictions of a former band member in Champion's death.