FILED: November 28, 2001

KEVIN KEENEY,

Petitioner,

v.

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON,

Respondent.

Judicial Review of the Order Upon Reconsideration of the University Appeals Board of the University of Oregon.

Argued and submitted September 7, 2001.

John R. Parrott argued the cause for petitioner. With him on the briefs were Kenneth A. Morrow and Morrow, Monks & Sharp, P.C.

Richard D. Wasserman, Assistant Attorney General, argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were Hardy Myers, Attorney General, and Michael D. Reynolds, Solicitor General.

Before Haselton, Presiding Judge, and Deits, Chief Judge,* and Wollheim, Judge.

HASELTON, P. J.

Judicial review dismissed as moot.

*Deits, C. J., vice Warren, S. J.

HASELTON, P. J.

Petitioner, a former student at the University of Oregon, seeks judicial review of the University's April 1999 final order dismissing allegations that he failed to comply with the terms of a February 1997 disciplinary order but declining to address his collateral attack on the February 1997 order. Petitioner argues that the February 1997 disciplinary order was void because it was not issued in accordance with the University's governing statutes and administrative rules. The University concedes that, in the abstract, it lacked the authority to issue the February 1997 order but asserts that we cannot reach that issue because this dispute is moot. We agree with the University that petitioner's claim is moot. Accordingly, we dismiss the petition for judicial review.

The material facts are not in dispute. On December 6, 1996, Elaine Green, the University's Associate Dean of Student Life, sent petitioner four letters notifying him that another student had accused him of making harassing telephone calls and that, consequently, four complaints had been filed against him for unwanted sexual behavior, stalking, and sexual harassment. OAR 571-021-0030(20) (sexual behavior); OAR 571-021-0030(21) (stalking); OAR 571-021-0030(22) (sexual harassment). In the letters, Green also informed petitioner that he must meet with her by December 20, 1996, to discuss the accusations or risk having the dispute summarily resolved without his input.

On December 13, 1996, petitioner met with Green to discuss the complaints. During that meeting, petitioner agreed to have the charges against him resolved informally pursuant to OAR 571-021-0045. (1) Thereafter, petitioner retained counsel. On January 22, 1997, petitioner's counsel wrote a letter to Green withdrawing petitioner's December 1996 consent to informal resolution of the complaints.

Despite that letter, Green did not refer the case for formal administrative resolution. Instead, on February 6, 1997, Green sent a letter order to petitioner "inform[ing]" him that, "[a]s a result of our conference, you have been found guilty" of violating the University Student Conduct Code. In that order, Green summarily imposed several sanctions on petitioner, including a "community service" sanction requiring petitioner to send a letter of apology to the complaining student, to meet with sexual harassment counselors, and to "write a 5 page paper on the typical effects of such conduct on the victims." Petitioner did not timely seek judicial review of that order. (2) Instead, on March 31, 1997, petitioner gave the University notice pursuant to the Oregon Tort Claims Act, ORS 30.275, of his intent to sue Green and her superiors for Green's allegedly tortious conduct and for damages based on 42 USC