NU hazing lawsuits on new track after claims school attorneys mishandled confidential information

The hot-button lawsuits related to Northwestern University’s hazing scandal — some alleging widespread abuse on the football team, another claiming ex-coach Pat Fitzgerald was wrongly fired — will be consolidated for the time being, a Cook County judge ruled this week. The decision came after attorneys representing ex-players accused Northwestern’s lawyers of using confidential information obtained in the ex-players’ lawsuit to help craft their strategy in the separate Fitzgerald case. A lawyer for Northwestern denied that accusation in court this week. But as a consequence, the cases are now on far different tracks than they were just a few weeks […]