A putative federal class action filed by women student-athletes at the University of Oregon survived a motion to dismiss on Friday, and their Title IX claims that male counterparts receive more favorable treatment will proceed.
The plaintiffs — 26 current and former student-athletes on the university’s varsity beach volleyball team and six current student-athletes on its club rowing team — make three main claims in their legal filing.
The volleyball plaintiffs say the university doesn’t provide athletic treatment and benefits to women athletes that are equal to men and that it also gives male athletes more athletic financial aid. The rowing plaintiffs argue that the university is depriving all existing and future women students of equal opportunities to participate in varsity athletics, pointing to the institution’s failure to offer intercollegiate opportunities for both genders in numbers proportionate to their enrollment.
The university replied with three motions. It argued in its motion to dismiss that the volleyball plaintiffs have no subject matter jurisdiction, as they have no standing. It also asked for a judgment on the pleadings, as the volleyball plaintiffs didn’t state a claim for unequal treatment and benefits. Additionally, it requested partial summary judgment on a statute of limitations. U.S. District Judge Michael McShane granted in part and denied in part the motion to dismiss. He denied both the judgment on the pleadings and partial summary judgment motions.
“This is a huge victory for the women athletes at the University of Oregon,” said attorney Arthur Bryant, with the Clarkson Law Firm and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, in a phone interview with Courthouse News. “The case is going to move forward.” Attorneys for the university couldn’t be reached for comment as of publication time...
Full story at https://www.courthousenews.com/university-of-oregon-women-athletes-prevail-over-motions-seeking-to-scuttle-title-ix-claims/.
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