Opinion ID: 1897403
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether Alden's complaint is moot.

Text: As a preliminary matter, Georgetown argues that Alden's complaint should be dismissed as moot because Alden seeks only injunctive relief to compel Georgetown to re-evaluate his clerkship grades, reinstate him to the medical school, and submit letters of correction to his file. Since he filed his lawsuit, Alden has received a medical degree from Ross University and, according to his deposition taken February 14, 1997, he was to become a resident in neurology at Louisiana State University on July 1, 1997. Consequently, Georgetown asserts that Alden has effectively abandoned his claims by deed, rendering this complaint moot. Because Alden's subsequent decision to finish his studies at Ross University does not necessarily place him in the same position as he would have been had he been permitted to complete his degree at Georgetown, we conclude that Alden's cause is not moot. While it would be inappropriate for a reviewing court `to adjudicate the merits of the appeal ... merely to record (its) views concerning a controversy which no longer exists and to rule on a question which has become moot and purely academic,' Banks v. Ferrell, 411 A.2d 54, 56 (D.C.1979) (quoting Price v. Wilson, 32 A.2d 109, 110 (1943)), in the instant case, Alden's claim has not become purely academic because Alden has not received the remedy which he originally sought in his complaint, that is, reinstatement to Georgetown Medical School. As Alden points out, [m]edical degrees from Ross and Georgetown are not fungible commodities, and possession of a Ross degree may not be as valuable or prestigious in terms of professional opportunities for which Alden may be eligible in the future. Moreover, Georgetown made no representations to the trial court that it would remove any reference to Alden's dismissal from its records if the complaint were to be dismissed as moot. Cf. Greene v. Howard Univ., 134 U.S.App. D.C. 81, 83-84, 412 F.2d 1128, 1131-32 (1969) (conditioning dismissal for mootness on university's complete effacement of any reference of students' absence from the university's rolls). Thus, Alden has a continued interest in eliminating the stigma of his dismissal from Georgetown. Cf. Mahavongsanan v. Hall, 529 F.2d 448, 449 (5th Cir.1976) (case not moot where university had further interest in eliminating an ongoing stigma of erosion of their academic certification process). Finally, if we were to reverse both the trial court's grant of summary judgment (thereby reinstating Alden's original complaint) and the trial court's decision to strike Alden's expert witnesses, he would be entitled to renew his motion to amend his complaint to add a claim for monetary damages. Accordingly, we proceed to evaluate the merits of Alden's claims.