Former UI student has FIJI and a fraternity brother barred from sexual assault lawsuit

After three years, a former University of Iowa student has dismissed all lawsuits in an upcoming lawsuit except those against former Phi Gamma Delta member Carson Steffen.

Student Makéna Solberg dismissed all lawsuits against the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and Jacob Meloan less than six weeks before the scheduled trial. The charges were dismissed with prejudice, meaning Solberg cannot file a new lawsuit against the fraternity or Meloan.

Solberg’s civil lawsuit was originally filed in October 2021 against Fiji, its UI chapter, Carson Steffen and Jacob Meloan.

According to court documents, Solberg accused Steffen and Meloan of sexually assaulting her at a party, recording and photographing the assault, and then causing the recordings and photos to be distributed among other Fijian members and on social media.

Throughout the court case, the lawsuit had at most six defendants – accusing several Fiji-affiliated companies of failing to adequately supervise their members, failing to protect houseguests and failing to accommodate preventative members.

According to court documents, the lawsuit was filed against entities in Fiji for “supporting the alleged attack.”

In August, both Solberg and the fraternity moved for summary judgment, eliminating the need to hear the lawsuit in November. Solberg’s motion for summary judgment was met with an 18-page opposition motion from Steffan.

The judge has yet to rule on summary judgment and the trial is scheduled for Nov. 5 in Tama County.

Fiji and the University of Iowa campus

Solberg – the plaintiff – was publicly identified as the victim of an alleged sexual assault in the September 5, 2020 incident, which was detailed in a change.org petition that garnered over 40,000 signatures and sparked several protests on campus in 2021 .

The protests on the UI campus demanded the abolition of the UI-FIJI chapter and took place over three consecutive days. Each protest had hundreds of participants.

The first of the three protests began in front of the FIJI House on Ellis Ave. 303, where the alleged attack occurred.

Just a week before the allegations and protests at the UI, another Fiji chapter in the next state The University of Nebraska-Lincoln faced a similar scenario.

FIJI is not listed among the suspended organizations on campus, according to the UI’s websitewhich shows lockdowns since 2018. Fiji, though There are currently two conduct violations pendingwhich were added in March.

Process delays

The trial, scheduled for Nov. 5 in Tama County, suffered several delays.

The original deadline in 2023 was met with a request for a change of venue based on a request from FIJI lawyers in August 2023. The application filed by Fijian lawyers requested a different venue for the hearing due to extensive media coverage.

Solberg’s attorneys filed a motion to continue the trial in Johnson County, but the change of venue was approved.

The trial date change had something of a domino effect, as it also affected the date of a separate trial against Soldberg and a related lawsuit against former FIJI member Broc Hawkins.

Hawkins allegedly shared a video recording of the sexual assault with other people, which Hawkins denied, according to court documents.

However, in January of this year, Solberg dropped her lawsuit against Hawkins with prejudice.