A former Vanderbilt student expelled during the first semester of his senior year is suing the university for more than $75,000 in damages. The plaintiff was expelled after being found guilty of violation of the school's Honor Code.

According to the lawsuit filed on Jan. 28, the plaintiff was brought before the Honor Council Jan. 16, 2008 for receiving unauthorized aid on a physics test he took the previous semester.

His professor had reported him to the Honor Council for copying the answers to the test from a student sitting at the same table. The plaintiff had answered 13 out of 15 multiple-choice questions on the exam the same way as the neighboring student, who had a different version of the test. Only two of the 15 questions on the plaintiff's exam were answered correctly.

The first Honor Council hearing found the plaintiff guilty of the violation with a vote of 10-2. According to the student handbook, three "not guilty" votes are required to find a defendant not guilty of a violation.

The plaintiff appealed the ruling and was granted a new hearing by the Appellate Review Board, which ruled hat there were procedural irregularities during the first hearing.

The second hearing was held on Aug. 20, 2008 with a new presiding officer, who had reviewed the details of the first hearing and discussed the results with a faculty member. The plaintiff was again found guilty by the Honor Council and was sentenced to a failing grade in the physics class and permanent expulsion from Vanderbilt.

After this ruling, the plaintiff again petitioned for an appeal. The Appellate Review Board, however, did not grant the appeal and ruled on Nov. 20, 2008 that it would uphold the Honor Council's decision.

The lawsuit claims the plaintiff did not copy another student's answers during the exam and that he is innocent of all of the Honor Council charges. The suit claims damages both compensatory and punitive, citing loss of future wages, $40,000 paid per year for tuition and other claims.

Vanderbilt's Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Beth Fortune had no comment on behalf of the university.

NashvillePost.com contributed reporting to this article.