A motion to postpone a hearing was filed on behalf of Penn State on Monday in the case filed against the university by former assistant football coach Mike McQueary, according to court documents.
McQueary filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the university for “ostracizing and isolating” him from a community he spent most of his life in, according to court documents.
“The university will assert a vigorous defense against the allegations and claims contained in the McQueary complaint,” University Spokesman David LaTorre wrote in an email.
The motion to stay proceedings, filed by the university at 10:33 a.m. Monday, cited that moving forward with the trial while parallel proceedings with regard to other Penn State employees — whether they are current or former –– would put the university at a disadvantage.
A stay in the proceedings, attorneys said according to the court documents, would not detriment McQueary’s case against the university.
“The stay would help ensure that a fair trial can proceed in all matters,” LaTorre wrote.
According to court documents, if the stay is not granted, Penn State will be prejudiced due to other criminal proceedings that are currently underway, like the trials involving former Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and former Interim Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz.
Both are charged with perjury and failure to report suspected child abuse in relation to grand jury testimony given by McQueary during the investigations surrounding Jerry Sandusky.
McQueary testified for the prosecution during the Sandusky trial that he witnessed Sandusky engaging in something of a “sexual nature” with a boy in the showers of the Lasch Football Building in 2001.
“Penn State is being sued in this action with allegations made against current or former employees, including Curley and Schultz, and those same individuals are criminal defendants, with both Curley and Schultz currently awaiting trial,” attorneys wrote in court documents.
McQueary was placed on administrative leave shortly after charges were filed against Sandusky, a former Penn State assistant coach. McQueary was not re-hired under new head coach Bill O’Brien.
McQueary is suing for more than $4 million — among other things — citing defamation and misrepresentation, an amount he could have earned at least, according to court documents, he said, had he been a football coach for the next 25 years, according to court documents.
He could have also earned a bowl bonus had he not been placed on administrative leave, reimbursement for legal fees and full “back pay” or money he would have received as a full-time employee, according to court documents.
Jury selection for both Curley and Schultz’s joint trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 7, 2013.
Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of child sex abuse in June. He is currently serving a sentence of a minimum of 30 years in prison.
