Court Removes Orazio Petito From Cornell Fraternity Lawsuit

A dispute over responsibility for an alleged sexual assault at Cornell University has narrowed after a New York court filing removed Orazio Petito from a civil lawsuit involving the Chi Phi fraternity. The October 20, 2026, filing permanently bars the plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, from bringing the same claims against Petito again, while the fraternity and seven men accused of participating in the alleged assault remain defendants.

According to court documents reported by CNY Central and ABC News, the parties agreed to discontinue the claims against Petito with prejudice. The filing also states that the plaintiff will hold Petito and his attorney harmless from known and unknown liens connected to the litigation.

The distinction is significant because Petito was not accused of personally participating in the alleged sexual assault. Instead, the lawsuit named him over claims that he had failed to supervise fraternity members and maintain a safe environment at the chapter house. His attorney, Eric Bernstein, maintained that Petito was incorrectly identified as the chapter president at the time of the October 2024 incident.

Bernstein welcomed the decision in comments to Newsday, emphasizing that his client should not have remained a defendant.

"We're pleased with the dismissal of the case against my client, and justice was served," said Eric Bernstein, Petito's attorney.

Bernstein also told ABC News that the dismissal reflected the mistaken identification and that his client had been wrongly included in the case.

"My client deserved to be released from this case. They had the wrong the guy and justice was served as far as Mr. Petito was concerned. We are all pleased with the outcome, and it was the right outcome," Bernstein said.

Jane Doe's original lawsuit alleged that multiple men associated with Chi Phi drugged and sexually assaulted her at the fraternity house in October 2024. According to ABC News, the woman reported the alleged incident to campus police in November 2024, approximately three weeks after it occurred, and later filed a civil lawsuit against the accused men and the university.

The seven fraternity members named in the lawsuit have denied wrongdoing. Newsday reported that the defendants acknowledged sexual contact but maintained that it was consensual, pointing to messages exchanged afterward and disputing the plaintiff's account. No criminal charges have been filed against the seven men, according to ABC News.

The criminal investigation has also continued beyond the initial local review. Newsday reported that the local district attorney declined to charge the men, after which New York Gov. Kathy Hochul assigned the matter to state Attorney General Letitia James. James is investigating the allegations, while Cornell University is conducting an internal review of its response, ABC News reported.

The lawsuit's broader implications have intensified scrutiny of Cornell's handling of sexual assault allegations. According to the Los Angeles Magazine report, faculty senators are considering a resolution expressing no confidence in the university administration's response to campus sexual assault concerns.

Faculty senator Paul Ortiz introduced the resolution on October 7 with support from 12 colleagues. Senators began discussing the proposal on October 14, with another discussion scheduled for October 28 before an electronic vote. The measure would express faculty concerns about university leadership but would not compel administrators to resign.

Petito's dismissal therefore resolves the claims against him but does not end the civil litigation involving Chi Phi, the seven accused men or Cornell University.