Can I sue a university for sexual harassment?
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The short answer: You could sue, but it'll be hard.
That's the short answer.
Here is the long answer: Courts usually give schools a lot of leeway when it comes to their internal disciplinary decisions. Unless you can show a serious procedural failure or clear bad faith (like discrimination or retaliation), courts won’t second-guess a school’s decision-making process. In your situation, the process was followed, and the panel made a reasoned decision, so a court would probably stay out of it.
Neglect is not really a cause of action against a school in this context. Schools don’t have a general legal duty to protect students from all harm in the way you’re describing. You’d need to show that the school had a specific duty, they violated it, and you suffered measurable damages directly because of that. Here, you’re basically arguing emotional harm from their decision, which doesn’t meet that standard.
To win on emotional distress, you usually need to show either extreme and outrageous conduct or a physical impact. A school investigating and deciding a Title IX case doesn’t rise to that level legally. Courts look for truly shocking behavior, not just outcomes someone disagrees with.
So you could try, but I just don't know if it's worth your valuable time. I know it’s frustrating, but that’s the honest lay of the land.
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If a Title 9 investigation found the professor did not engage in sexual harassment, can I still try to sue the university?
I'm sorry to hear that you're dealing with this situation; it can be quite stressful. Have you already filed a complaint with your school regarding the Title IX issue?
Yes
What specific actions or incidents are you considering suing the school for?
Neglect and emotional distress.
Is there anything else the lawyer should know before I connect you? Rest assured they'll be able to help with your neglect and emotional distress.
No
Hello! My name is Michael, and I'm an attorney ready to help! Your responses matter to me, so I only need a few minutes to review and respond to each of your posts. When did you lose the case?
The judgment on the Title 9 case was somewhere back in 2023.
I'm so sorry about that! To clarify, did you go to court over this originally?
No, it was just the school's internal investigation.
Understood! So you're just wondering what your rights are here, correct?
I am wondering if I can still push for other legal actions even though the school sided with the professor.
Ok! I just need a little time to draft up a high-quality answer. I'll be with you as soon as possible. It won't be terribly long, ok?
The short answer: You could sue, but it'll be hard.
That's the short answer.
Here is the long answer: Courts usually give schools a lot of leeway when it comes to their internal disciplinary decisions. Unless you can show a serious procedural failure or clear bad faith (like discrimination or retaliation), courts won’t second-guess a school’s decision-making process. In your situation, the process was followed, and the panel made a reasoned decision, so a court would probably stay out of it.
Neglect is not really a cause of action against a school in this context. Schools don’t have a general legal duty to protect students from all harm in the way you’re describing. You’d need to show that the school had a specific duty, they violated it, and you suffered measurable damages directly because of that. Here, you’re basically arguing emotional harm from their decision, which doesn’t meet that standard.
To win on emotional distress, you usually need to show either extreme and outrageous conduct or a physical impact. A school investigating and deciding a Title IX case doesn’t rise to that level legally. Courts look for truly shocking behavior, not just outcomes someone disagrees with.
So you could try, but I just don't know if it's worth your valuable time. I know it’s frustrating, but that’s the honest lay of the land.
Okay, because I was forced to continue to have classes with him as my professor while all this was happening, and I ended up dropping out of the program because of it.
I hear you! Did you ever file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights?
No, I have not.
Ok, use this link to File a Complaint
You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, and they can help you get this resolved without having to go back to the school or file a lawsuit.
Okay, and where do I go from there? I got some student loans due to this being a physical therapy school program. Will this help with that?
That’s why I was looking to sue in the first place, because I was forced out of the school since they sided with him, and him being the program director means I have to deal with him on a daily basis.
So in that case, you would file the complaint. One of the lawyers for the OCR reviews it, they contact the school and ask how they want to fix it. You can offer suggestions to the OCR case handler as well as far as what you want as a reasonable result or compensation, and it'll help you.
Okay, thanks for the information.
For sure!
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Yes, thank you.
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