In what was called a rare finding, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court jury verdict that Chadron State College committed a Title IX violation in the handling of a 2016 on-campus sexual assault case.
In a two-to-one opinion in Jane Doe vs. the Nebraska State College Board of Trustees, the panel sided with the trustees, who appealed the jury finding that CSC officials acted with deliberate indifference in their handling of the assault, and awarded the now-former student $300,000 plus attorney fees.
Doe had been sexually assaulted in May 2016, but did not directly say she had been assaulted in a conversation about the incident, telling a college counselor she did not want it further pursued or reported to police.
Following another assault by the same subject four months later, CSC initiated a Title IX investigation and response, which included the serving of a no-contact order at the end of the police interview with the accused, who was also banned from buildings where Doe would be present, assurance the two did not have the same classes, and offering the victim off-campus coursework or a security detail while on campus.
The appeals court panel said viewing the appeal in a light most favorable to the jury verdict, uncontradicted evidence demonstrated CSC officials acted promptly and immediately upon learning of the assault, and there was no evidence showing the college’s actions had a causal impact with the sexual assaults or related harassment.
The Eighth Circuit remanded the case with directions that the district court enter judgment in favor of the State College Trustees, and to vacate the award of Doe’s attorney fees.
The male subject accused in the case was never charged by law enforcement.
