Editor’s note: The People v. Flores murder trial was covered each day by Mustang News. Read previous articles about the trial here.
The family of Kristin Smart is accusing Cal Poly for negligence relating to Smart’s death, according to documents filed in the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court on Thursday.
The Smart family is suing the university for negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress and wrongful death, court documents report.
“It’s finally time for the university to take responsibility for what happened to Kristen and take responsibility for its failings to the family,” Marc Lewis, one of the attorneys for the Smart Family who filed the suit, said in an interview with Mustang News. “And the families really never asked in a legal way for the university to take responsibility. And so that’s the core message, I think is obtaining justice and taking responsibility.”
The Smart family is alleging the university violated its legal duty when it did not pursue a missing persons case or interview witness promptly and failed to seal Paul Flores’ room when he was originally suspected. At the time, the university allowed the room to be cleaned and sanitized and failed to search the room until 16 days after Smart went missing.
The family also alleges that Cal Poly ignored at least five reports of Flores stalking and harassing other female students and staff before Smart was murdered, according to court documents.
“If Cal Poly had acted on these reports, conducted an investigation, and appropriately disciplined the student, he would not have been on campus, and therefore would not have been able to murder Smart,” the complaint read. “Flores also would have been prevented from raping and assaulting countless other women, in the years after he murdered Kristin.”
Additionally, the lawsuit claims that the Sheriff’s initial inability to find suitable evidence to pursue Flores as a suspect was a direct result of CPPD’s alleged misconduct.
“The Smart Family did not begin to understand Cal Poly’s failings until the President of Cal Poly apologized in May 2023,” the civil complaint stated.
Lewis said hearing this apology signaled to the family that there was information the university had not shared with them and was a “first step” in the university admitting liability.
“It’s kind of unusual for an entity like the university to just come out and say, there’s things that we do differently now — like that’s a pretty big statement,” Lewis said. “One of the purposes of the lawsuit is to find out what the university knew in 1996, and what they did and didn’t do.”
Seeking that information is why the Smart family is interested in going to court — even though most lawsuits are resolved with a settlement.
“We may not settle the case,” Lewis said. “We may in fact, go all the way to a jury trial. Our team and our clients are pretty well convinced that a jury of 12 people in San Luis Obispo County will see things our way.”
The lawsuit described the fact that Cal Poly’s complete investigative files on the matter have never been provided to the family, despite their requests.
The civil complaint also alleges nine separate incidents that describe Flores sexually assaulting or attempting to sexually assault women between 1996 and 2020 – from SLO to Los Angeles – involving at least 12 women.
The complaint argues that if Cal Poly had taken proper steps when alerted about Flores’ behavior on campus, it would have prevented these crimes as well as Smart’s murder.
“Our first priority is to help the family in ensuring nothing like this ever happens again at Cal Poly,” Lewis said in an email. “The University failed the family, and it failed Kristin.”
The complaint details the distress experienced by the Smart Family.
“Members of the Smart Family have experienced a quarter of a century of anxiety, hopelessness, depression, and even suicidal ideation related to thinking Kristin might come home, knowing that her killer was still free, and being unable to find her body,” the complaint reads.
Lewis said one main challenge will be navigating the Smart family’s heavy emotions tied to the case. But he praised their resilience and affirmed that they “know what they’re getting into.”
“I think it’s very hard what the Smart family has been through already,” Lewis said. “I suspect the defense, the university, is going to be tough on them and that’s going to be somewhat hard for them to deal with.”
In an email to Mustang News, university spokesperson Matt Lazier said the university has no comment on the lawsuit at this time.
Lewis said the university has about 30 days to respond, though an extension may be requested.