By Courtney L. Flowers, Ph.D. and Dwalah Fisher, Ed.D.
In 2017, the parents of a Chadron State College (CSC) softball player filed a Title IX lawsuit in the US District court against the institution. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a) et seq. is a federal statute banning discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded educational programs.
The plaintiffs’ daughter Fatima Larios committed suicide after being physically and emotionally abused by her boyfriend in 2015. The boyfriend was never charged with any crime in this case and the softball player’s death was ruled a suicide (Rempp, 2017). In their complaint, the plaintiffs alleged that CSC acted deliberately indifferent to reports of dating violence against their daughter. They further claimed had the university complied with institutional and Title IX policies their daughter’s death could have been prevented.
According to the lawsuit, Larios’ teammates and coaches noticed bruises and behavioral changes in the softball player and reported their concerns to CSC officials. However, the Title IX coordinator did not interview them and instead sent Larios a copy of the campus dating violence policy which the softball coaches were copied on the correspondence. The plaintiffs cite the correspondence was a breach of the softball player’s confidentiality and may have increased her risk noting “abusers often read victim’s mail and e-mail as a form of control” (Rempp, 2017).
Further, the plaintiffs allege the softball player suffered from a hostile educational environment. For example, the lawsuit cites the residence hall advisors and CSC staff threatened to call the police because of altercations between Larios and her boyfriend. Further, the plaintiffs claim they did not find out about the dating violence until nine months after their daughter’s death.
Chadron State College released a statement on the case “The loss of Fatima Larios in 2015 was a tragedy for her family, her friends and teammates, and for Chadron State College. The college shares her family’s grief and mourns Fatima’s passing. Chadron State College is aware of a lawsuit Fatima’s parents recently filed in the U.S. District Court for the state of Nebraska concerning her death,” the statement reads. “CSC is confident in its personnel and its policies, so it will remain focused on educating its students while it vigorously defends itself. Chadron State College certainly understands and appreciates litigation-related inquiries, but it does not intend to comment further on this matter.” (CNN, 2017).
In 2018, the plaintiffs sought motions for protective order from the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska alongside another CSC student who also alleged the college failed to protect her as required under Title IX, 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a). The other student was denoted as Jane Doe in the suit.
According to the motion, the plaintiffs’ requested the court “to grant an exception or modify its past protective orders in the respective cases, thereby permitting their counsel the right to exchange all discovery obtained on their respective Plaintiffs’ behalf for use in litigating against their common defendant, Chadron State College.”
Further, attorneys for the plaintiffs sought mutual knowledge of “all facts,” not “all relevant facts” which they argued “cases require discovery of the patterns and practices of Chadron State College and its administrators between 2014 and 2016 relative to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a).” However the court denied these motions stating they were “unwilling to open wide all such discovery, thus allowing Plaintiffs’ counsel to ferret through the discovery responses, including the personal information of students and CSC personnel relevant to only one of the two lawsuits, and then decide what each Plaintiff finds relevant and useful.”
Further the court found Larios’ and Doe’s lawsuits were “too dissimilar in terms of allegations, time frames, and actors to permit consolidated discovery which may infringe on the confidentiality owed to third parties, and will disclose at least some information which is not otherwise discoverable as to each separate lawsuit under the Federal Rules.”
In 2019, the defendants filed a motion summary judgment asserting the university had no actual knowledge of Larios’ experienced discrimination. For example, the motion reported “the College’s level of actual knowledge must amount to reliable reports of specific behavior so severe as to deprive the victim of access to educational opportunities.”
The defendants further reported, Title IX is inapplicable because the plaintiffs cannot show that the alleged dating violence was based on sex rather than interpersonal conflict. In addition, the defendants contested the plaintiff’s claims that they acted deliberately indifferent to reports of dating violence arguing their actions did not equivalently lead to Lario’s harassment, physical assaults, or deprivation of her educational opportunities at CDC.
Last, the defendants argued that the institution could not be held liable under Title IX for the softball player’s suicide because the action was self-inflicted which is an efficient intervening cause under Nebraska state law.
The defendant’s motion for summary judgment and motion for relief were both denied. The court found the defendants did not show as a matter of law that the plaintiffs could not succeed in proving causation. For example, the court found there were materials presented which were factual disputes on the issue of proximate cause and the measure of damages.
In addition, the court found that there was evidence that the college had knowledge of the softball player’s dating violence and the dating violence was gender-based. Further the court ruled that a jury would have to decide whether the college could have prevented the softball player’s suicide and could have provided a more meaningful response to the reports of dating violence.
The case will now proceed to trial.
Courtney L. Flowers, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Sport Management at Texas Southern University. Her research examines the racial and gendered barriers that embody Title IX policies and practices in the interscholastic and intercollegiate athletic systems.
Dwalah Fisher, Ed.D. is the Chair of the Health, Kinesiology, & Sport Studies department and the Assistant Athletic Director/ Senior Woman Administrator for Texas Southern University. Dr. Fisher also serves as the Title IX Deputy Coordinator for Athletics at Texas Southern University.
References
CNN. (2017, February 4). Parents Sue Nebraska College Over Daughter’s Suicide. Retrieved from, https://5newsonline.com/2017/02/04/parents-sue-nebraska-college-over-daughters-suicide/
Roohbakhsh, et al v. Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Colleges. et al, No. 8:2017cv00031 – Document 31 (D. Neb. 2017)
Roohbakhsh v. Bd. of Trs. of the Neb. State Colleges, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142504
Rempp, K. (2017, February 7). Parents hope lawsuit helps others. Retrieved from, https://rapidcityjournal.com/community/chadron/parents-hope-lawsuit-helps-others/article_d6449c2e-ed7b-11e6-96e5-7347e9dac172.html
