Fired opera singer sues University of Michigan, saying his rights were violated
DETROIT (AP) — An acclaimed opera singer fired by the University of Michigan in 2020 over allegations of sexual misconduct is suing school officials, claiming his rights were violated during the process.
David Daniels is seeking an unspecified financial award.
A lawyer for the university on Thursday urged a judge to throw out the lawsuit, arguing that the countertenor waited too long to go to court.
Daniels, 58, was hired as a voice professor in 2015 and granted tenure three years later in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. He was fired in 2020 after an investigation found he had solicited at least three students and shared a sexually explicit video with one, officials said.
Separately, Daniels and his husband were charged in Houston in 2019. A graduate student at Rice University said the couple drugged and sexually assaulted him years earlier after they met at a Houston Grand Opera reception.
Daniels and Scott Walters pleaded guilty in 2023 to sexual assault and were placed on probation.
In federal court in Detroit, Daniels' attorney argued he shouldn't be penalized for waiting more than three years to file a lawsuit challenging his firing at the University of Michigan. Francyne Stacey said the criminal case in Texas presented “exceptional circumstances.”
U.S. District Judge Sean Cox suggested Daniels could have filed a lawsuit then asked for a stay while the Texas case played out.
A former U-M student who made allegations against Daniels also is a defendant. Attorney Deborah Gordon urged the judge to throw out the lawsuit, saying the singer and his lawyers “intentionally sat on their hands.”
“Mr. Daniels wants retribution and has decided to pick up the cudgel,” Gordon said.
The university denies that Daniels' rights were violated during the process that led to his firing, noting that he was represented by a lawyer.
Cox did not issue a decision immediately.
Daniels has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the San Francisco Opera.
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