Karasek v. Regents of the University of California, No. 18-15841 (9th Cir. 2020)
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Three plaintiffs filed suit against UC, under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, alleging that UC violated Title IX by failing to adequately respond to their individual assaults and that UC violated Title IX by maintaining a general policy of deliberate indifference to reports of sexual misconduct, which heightened the risk that plaintiffs would be assaulted.
The Ninth Circuit held that a plaintiff alleging a Title IX claim against a school that arises from student-on-student or faculty-on-student sexual harassment or assault must establish five elements: (1) the school exercised substantial control over the harasser and the context in which the harassment occurred; (2) the harassment was so severe that it deprived the plaintiff of educational opportunities; (3) a school official with authority to address the alleged discrimination had actual knowledge of it; (4) the school acted with deliberate indifference to the harassment, such that the school's response was clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances; and (5) the school's deliberate indifference subjected the student to harassment. The panel affirmed the dismissal of two of the plaintiffs' individual claims and affirmed the district court's holding that the third plaintiff failed to establish triable issues.
The panel vacated the district court's dismissal of the pre-assault claim, holding that allegations that UC had actual knowledge or acted with deliberate indifference to a particular incident of harassment are unnecessary to sustain this theory of liability. Rather, all plaintiffs needed to allege are facts demonstrating (1) a school maintained a policy of deliberate indifference to reports of sexual misconduct, (2) which created a heightened risk of sexual harassment, (3) in a context subject to the school’s control, and (4) the plaintiff was harassed as a result. Accordingly, the panel remanded for further proceedings.
Court Description: Title IX. The panel affirmed in part and vacated in part the district court’s judgment in favor of defendant Regents of the University of California on claims brought under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by three plaintiffs who were sexually assaulted while undergraduates at the University of California, Berkeley. Plaintiffs alleged that UC violated Title IX by failing to adequately respond to their individual assaults and by maintaining a general policy of deliberate indifference to reports of sexual misconduct. The panel affirmed the district court’s dismissal of two plaintiffs’ individual claims and grant of summary judgment on a third plaintiff’s individual claim. To state a Title IX claim arising from student-on-student or faculty-on-student sexual harassment or assault, a plaintiff suing a school must allege that (1) the school exercised substantial control over the harasser and the context in which the harassment occurred; (2) the harassment was so severe that it deprived the plaintiff of educational opportunities; (3) a school official with authority to address the alleged discrimination had actual knowledge of it; (4) the school acted with deliberate indifference to the harassment, such that the school’s response was clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances; and (5) the school’s deliberate indifference KARASEK V. REGENTS OF THE UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA 3 subjected the student to harassment. The panel affirmed the district court’s holding that two plaintiffs failed adequately to allege deliberate indifference in UC’s investigation delays, policy violations, failure to take steps to prevent continued harassment, inequitable response, or failure to permit a plaintiff to participate in an investigation. The panel affirmed the district court’s holding that the third plaintiff failed to establish a triable issue as to whether UC acted with deliberate indifference by failing to investigate her complaint, failing to take steps to prevent the harasser from harassing her again, or committing policy violations. The panel vacated the district court’s dismissal of the pre- assault claim regarding an alleged policy of deliberate indifference to reports of sexual misconduct that created a sexually hostile environment for plaintiffs and heightened the risk that they would be sexually assaulted. The panel held that such a claim is a cognizable theory of Title IX liability. Finding persuasive a decision of the Tenth Circuit, the panel held that a pre-assault claim survives a motion to dismiss if the plaintiff plausibly alleges that (1) a school maintained a policy of deliberate indifference to reports of sexual misconduct, (2) which created a heightened risk of sexual harassment (3) in a context subject to the school’s control, and (4) the plaintiff was harassed as a result. The panel remanded the case for further proceedings.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on April 20, 2020.
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