CIRCUIT COURT OF OREGON COUNTY OF DESCHUTES ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) INTRODUCTION

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1 //1 :: PM 1CV JAMES BRILES, v. Plaintiff, CENTRAL OREGON COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Defendant. CIRCUIT COURT OF OREGON COUNTY OF DESCHUTES Case No. INTRODUCTION COMPLAINT - NEGLIGENCE TOTAL CLAIM: $ MILLION FEE AUTHORITY: ORS.0(1(d JURY TRIAL DEMANDED Not Subject to Mandatory Arbitration On Halloween 1, Central Oregon Community College ("COCC" student James Briles, years old, was sitting at the desk in his dorm room at COCC's Juniper Hall when his COCC roommate, Eric Norgaard, years old, stabbed Mr. Briles at least 1 times in the back. Mr. Briles endured multiple surgeries at St. Charles Hospital over the next six days and nearly died. This case arises because COCC breached the duties of care that it owed Mr. Briles, its student. 1. PARTIES Mr. Briles is an Oregon resident who grew up in Benton County, Oregon.. PAGE 1 COMPLAINT - NEGLIGENCE Portland, Oregon 0-1-

2 Defendant COCC is the oldest two-year college in Oregon. The primary campus is in Bend, with additional campuses in Redmond, Madras and Prineville. Its academic calendar is divided quarterly. FACTS. Mr. Briles began attending COCC in the Fall Quarter 1 and was assigned a double room at COCC's Juniper Hall.. Eric Norgaard was also a COCC student living in Juniper Hall in Fall Quarter 1.. Originally, Mr. Briles and Mr. Norgaard were not roommates. But approximately a week after classes began, Mr. Norgaard complained about the messiness of his original roommate, so COCC responded almost immediately by reassigning Mr. Norgaard to room with Mr. Briles.. Right away, there were problems. It was not at all uncommon for Mr. Norgaard to talk loudly and angrily to himself about seemingly nonsensical things. Sometimes that aggression carried over toward other people around Mr. Norgaard during such episodes. Mr. Norgaard's behavior was consistent with someone suffering from some form of mental illness.. The erratic behavior caused Mr. Briles to avoid his dorm room as much as possible. Mr. Norgaard's yelling also caused the young women in the room next door to be afraid such that on more than one occasion they contacted COCC officials with concerns for their safety. PAGE COMPLAINT - NEGLIGENCE Portland, Oregon 0-1-

3 Approximately a week before the stabbing, Mr. Norgaard had a behavioral incident in the Juniper Hall lobby in which Mr. Norgaard screamed repeatedly and violently such that campus security was called to deal with the incident.. The lobby incident, combined with the accumulation of the multiple other incidents over the past month, led Mr. Briles to contact COCC officials and demand a roommate change. Mr. Briles specifically told COCC officials that he was afraid for his safety.. Unfortunately, despite having previously accommodated Mr. Norgaard's request for a room change based on a complaint that his then-roommate was messy, COCC officials did not extend the same courtesy to Mr. Briles, whose request was based on safety concerns. 1. On Halloween 1, numerous children trick-or-treated through Juniper Hall, including the room occupied by Mr. Briles and Mr. Norgaard. Mr. Briles stayed away from the room for much of the day and night (as he typically did, but he eventually returned and around midnight and took a seat at his desk with his back to Mr. Norgaard. 1. It was while Mr. Briles was seated that Mr. Norgaard began the knife attack, repeatedly plunging the blade into Mr. Briles's back no fewer than 1 times. During the ensuing struggle, Mr. Norgaard coldly uttered, "Happy Halloween," to Mr. Briles. Mr. Briles was somehow able to crawl into the hallway outside of his dorm room where he was seen by other Juniper Hall students. Fortunately, one of these students called when the student realized that this scene was not a Halloween prank Mr. Briles was near death. PAGE COMPLAINT - NEGLIGENCE Portland, Oregon 0-1-

4 Mr. Briles spent six days at St. Charles Hospital and underwent surgeries on his back and hand. His physical rehabilitation continues. 1. Mr. Briles also continues to seek treatment for the ongoing psychological trauma of being stabbed 1 times in the back by his COCC roommate. FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF (Negligence. Plaintiff re-alleges paragraphs 1-1 above.. COCC owed a duty of care to Mr. Briles.. COCC breached that duty of care in at least the following particulars: 1 In admitting Mr. Norgaard as a COCC student despite the fact that COCC knew or reasonably should have known about the safety threat presented by Mr. Norgaard to other students; Once the decision had been made to admit Mr. Norgaard as a COCC student, in failing to take proper precautions (e.g., no roommate with Mr. Norgaard; warning or at least educating other students about his condition and how to respond in the event of any episode, etc. to mitigate the safety concerns that COCC reasonably should have foreseen; In assigning Mr. Norgaard to share a double room with Mr. Briles; In refusing to accommodate Mr. Briles's request for a roommate change or a new living situation despite having been made specifically aware from multiple firsthand sources of Mr. Norgaard's violent and threatening behavior; and PAGE COMPLAINT - NEGLIGENCE Portland, Oregon 0-1-

5 In such other ways as discovery will reveal.. As a direct and proximate result of COCC's negligence, Mr. Briles suffered damages including but not limited to the following: Economic damages of $00,000; and Noneconomic damages of $. million. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for the following relief: 1 For a judgment against Defendant in an amount to be proved at trial; and For such other relief as the Court deems appropriate. JURY DEMAND Plaintiff hereby demands trial by jury in this action. DATED this th day of November, Trial Attorneys: Steven D. Olson, OSB No. 00 Darian A. Stanford, OSB No. 1 0/00001/1v1 TONKON TORP LLP By s/ Steven D. Olson Steven D. Olson, OSB No. 00 Direct Telephone: 0.0. Direct Fax: steven.olson@tonkon.com Portland, OR SLINDE NELSON STANFORD By: s/ Darian A. Stanford Darian A. Stanford, OSB No. 1 Telephone: 0.. Fax: darian@slindenelson.com 1 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 0 Portland, OR Attorneys for Plaintiff PAGE COMPLAINT - NEGLIGENCE Portland, Oregon 0-1-