A former student recently filed a federal lawsuit alleging Southern Arkansas University mishandled her sexual assault complaint.
The civil complaint that Taylor Moore filed in U.S. District Court in Texarkana follows a May ruling in which the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that a university that receives federal funds could face lawsuits for money damages for violations of Title IX provisions.
That ruling, written by U.S. Circuit Judge William D. Benton, came in another Arkansas case. Elizabeth Fryberger in 2016 sued the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the UA Board of Trustees over the handling of her sexual assault report on campus. She sought money damages for violations of Title IX, which prevents sexual discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal money.
Fryberger and Moore, who is suing SAU, are represented by attorney George Rozzell of the Keith Miller Butler Schneider & Pawlik law firm in Rogers.
The University of Arkansas argued that it had sovereign immunity from money damages in claims involving Title IX and asked P.K. Holmes III, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District, to dismiss the case. He denied the motion in November 2016 and the university appealed.
The 8th Circuit ruled in favor of Fryberger.
“By accepting federal funds, the University in fact consented to suits for damages,” the 8th Circuit said in its ruling. “The district court did not err in refusing to dismiss Fryberger’s Title IX claims.”
With Holmes’ ruling affirmed, Fryberger’s case is scheduled for a jury trial in his courtroom in Fayetteville during the week of Sept. 23.
Defending claims involving sexual assault allegations could be costly for colleges. United Educators of Bethesda, Maryland, which insures colleges, studied sexual assault claims at 104 colleges and universities between 2011 and 2013. It found that over that period, those schools spent about $17 million defending and settling sexual assault claims. And about $9.3 million of that amount was spent on defense costs, the 2015 report said.
Melanie Bennett, risk management counsel for UE, said the insurer has seen an increasing number of claims involving sexual violence since 2011.
“And that’s continued even more so in the past two years with the rise of the #MeToo” movement, she said.
Moore’s Case
Moore said she was sexually assaulted in a dorm room on the SAU campus in Magnolia in December 2015. She alleged the fellow student she was dating at the time conspired with his friend to sexually assault her.
She said that when she reported the case, a dean didn’t provide her with written information about her rights and options regarding the disciplinary process nor about her protections from retaliation.
She also alleged that SAU didn’t offer her counseling services or accommodations to ensure her educational success or safety.
Moore said she no longer felt safe or supported on campus and transferred to Henderson State University in Arkadelphia for the spring 2016 semester.
The student Moore accused of assault was suspended for a year. SAU, however, found no evidence linking the other student to any wrongdoing.
Moore said in the suit that she had evidence showing that the student conspired to commit sexual assault and then retaliated against her after she filed the complaint.
She is seeking unspecified damages for discrimination and retaliation on the basis of gender in violation of Title IX and hostile educational environment in violation of Title IX.
A spokesman for SAU said the school doesn’t comment on pending litigation. “However, SAU has Title IX policies and practices in place that are fair and consistent to protect our students,” the spokesman said in an email to Arkansas Business. “These policies and procedures are communicated to our students multiple times in numerous forms and are located on our website.”
Jennifer A. Drobac, a law professor who teaches sexual harassment law at Indiana University’s McKinney School of Law, told Arkansas Business that colleges should have explicit prohibitions regarding sexual assault. “And they should be taking complaints seriously, investigating and taking proper … action, if any is required,” she said.
Educating the student body about sexual assault also helps, she said. “So a lot of it starts with education.”
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