NJ Parents Lose Lawsuit Against Seton Hall After Student Dies During COVID Pandemic

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — A lawsuit filed by the parents of a Seton Hall University student who died during the coronavirus pandemic has been dismissed again – this time for good.

The parents of Kristen McCartney filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the South Orange-based university after her passing in 2021.

McCartney was a sophomore at Seton Hall’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations when she tested positive for COVID-19. Under the school’s pandemic “restart” plan, the North Carolina resident was required to move from her regular dormitory room to a designated isolation dormitory room in Neumann Hall for a mandatory 10-day quarantine.

Initially, one of McCartney’s roommates who also tested positive for COVID-19 the previous day was also placed in the same room. On Sept. 19, her roommate was allowed to leave the isolation room and return to her regular dorm room. McCartney – who has never lived alone at Seton Hall before that day and always had roommates who could call for help if needed – was left behind in the isolation room to finish her quarantine.

She would never leave.

The next morning, university staff found McCartney face down and unresponsive in her room. Revival attempts were unsuccessful. An autopsy report later found that she died of a seizure.

McCartney’s parents filed a lawsuit against Seton Hall in May 2024. See Related: NJ Student Dies In Quarantine – But COVID Didn’t Kill Her, Lawsuit Alleges

The late student’s parents alleged in their lawsuit that Seton Hall knew about her medical history – she’d informed the school several times about her epilepsy, including on a medical form she turned in while applying to play soccer at the university – and failed to provide the health or safety checks that could have prevented her death.

It’s an allegation that university administrators denied.

“Kristen was a beloved member of our community,” a Seton Hall spokesperson previously told Patch when reached for comment about the lawsuit.

“We continue to mourn her passing, which was heartbreaking, but not the result of any actions by the university,” she added.

In January, a federal judge in New Jersey dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice.

Wrongful death and survivorship claims have statutes of limitations of two years after the decedent’s death, and personal injury actions have a statute of limitations of two years after “accrual” of the cause of action, Judge Susan Wigenton noted.

The plaintiffs were aware of their gross negligence claim by Nov. 12, 2021 at the latest, Wigenton wrote. The lawsuit was filed on May 14, 2024. In addition, the plaintiffs failed to show that the university acted in “bad faith, arbitrarily, or without notice” regarding the chain of events that led to McCartney’s death.

• See Related: Parents Sue Seton Hall After COVID Death; Judge Dismisses Lawsuit

McCartney’s parents and lawyers responded by filing an amended complaint, this time arguing that Seton Hall’s pandemic restart plan and statements made on the university website were proof of a contract with its students – one which was broken when McCartney died.

Wigenton disagreed, saying that the plaintiffs didn’t establish that a “contract” existed, dismissing the amended complaint with prejudice.

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