Hofstra University had 'no legal duty' to provide medical help to bar exam taker who went into cardiac arrest, court filing says

Hofstra University had no "legal duty" to provide medical assistance to a New Jersey woman who went into cardiac arrest last year while taking the bar exam on the Hempstead campus, attorneys for the school said as they moved to dismiss a lawsuit filed over the incident.

Mary Jane Jung, 36, a Fordham Law School graduate from Palisades Park, filed a pair of lawsuits in July against Hofstra and the New York State Board of Law Examiners, which administers the test, making claims of negligence and negligent training and supervision and seeking undisclosed financial damages.

Last week, attorneys for the private university responded to the suit, stipulating that while they sympathize with Jung about the "unfortunate incident," Hofstra had no duty to provide first aid.

"Hofstra had a duty to maintain and operate its property ... in a reasonably safe condition for any person reasonably expected to be on the premises," wrote Matthew Lampert, Hofstra's attorney on the case, which was filed in Nassau State Supreme Court. "The operation and maintenance of Hofstra University does not, however, create a duty to protect an individual from experiencing a medical emergency."

Jung's attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Newsday reported last month that the state Attorney General’s Office asked the New York Court of Claims to dismiss Jung's suit against the New York State Board of Law Examiners, arguing that her "bombastic" allegations — that officials failed to provide her with immediate lifesaving assistance — were disproven by surveillance footage showing officials responding quickly to the medical incident.

Jung went into cardiac arrest shortly before the lunch break on July 30, 2025, the second day of the state bar examination at Hofstra’s David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex, gasping for air, collapsing and turning blue in front of proctors, staff and hundreds of test takers, according to the lawsuit.

Hofstra, which declined to comment on its court filing, maintained AED devices — used to revive individuals from cardiac arrest — on campus but failed to ensure that its public safety and emergency personnel knew where they were located, could access them immediately or were trained to use them, according to the lawsuit.

"Yet, emergency medical services were not promptly summoned, cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR] was not promptly administered, and an automated defibrillator [AED] was not timely retrieved and deployed during the critical early minutes of plaintiff’s cardiac arrest," Jung's lawsuit states. "Instead, the examination continued. Candidates were instructed to keep working; those who attempted to stand or assist were discouraged or admonished and plaintiff remained unconscious without the urgent intervention her condition demanded."

The alleged delay, the lawsuit contends, led to a brain injury and required doctors to implant a defibrillator in Jung's chest.

State officials, however, said surveillance footage shows responders can be seen entering the room approximately one minute after they were notified of the emergency.

A minute-by-minute timeline of the incident found that Hofstra security responded within 2½ minutes of Jung slumping over at her desk and 3½ minutes before the collection of test booklets before the 12:30 p.m. lunch break, Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick, chair of the Board of Law Examiners, wrote in a letter last year to Assemb. Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove), who was investigating the incident.

Hofstra has said its emergency response team "acted swiftly and decisively to save [Jung's] life." 

The school's response to Jung's lawsuit made little mention of its response efforts, focusing largely on Hofstra's minimal legal obligations to come to her aid.

"There is no general duty to come to the aid of a person in peril, whether the peril is medical or otherwise," Lampert wrote.

The board has faced harsh criticism for failing to pause the exam, even with Jung unconscious on the floor as university public safety officials rushed in to administer chest compressions and apply the AED. Jung was taken by ambulance to Nassau University Medical Center, officials said.

The rest of the test takers returned to complete the exam after an abbreviated lunch break.

Board officials have defended its decision to continue with the exam.

John McClary, the group's former executive director, told Newsday last year that "the test [had] never been halted for a medical incident" during his 20-year tenure with the board.

Newsday reported in February that Hofstra, which has continued to host bar exams, will have "full authority" to act in future emergency situations.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.