Class Action Lawsuit Against Quinnipiac University Alleging Gender and Sex Discrimination In Female Volleyball & Other Quinnipiac Athletic Programs Receives Class Certification
The class action lawsuit against Quinnipiac University (a private university in Hamden with about 5,400 undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students) pending in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (styled Stephanie Biediger, Kayla Lawler, Erin Overdevest, Kristen Corinaldesi and Logan Riker et al. v. Quinnipiac University, Case No. 3:09-cv-00621-SRU) alleging gender discrimination in the school’s athletic programs in violation of Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.) and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto (34 C.F.R. Part 106), has been certified as a class action by District Court Judge Stefan Underhill, according to class action lawsuit news reports.
The Quinnipiac University gender bias & sex discrimination class action lawsuit complaint reportedly alleges that on March 4, 2009, Quinnipiac informed the women’s volleyball team that the program would be eliminated at the end of the 2008-2009 academic year, at which time there was a purported disparity between the percentage of women enrolled as undergraduates at Quinnipiac University and the number of varsity athletic participation opportunities available to female students.
In its class certification order, the Court noted that 61.7% of Quinnipiac’s undergraduate enrollees in the 2008-2009 academic year were female, but, based on preliminary data, that only 52.57% of the Quinnipiac University’s athletic opportunities were for women’s sports.
Last year, the Court reportedly issued a preliminary injunction barring Quinnipiac University from terminating the woman’s volleyball program for the 2009-10 season and prohibited the school from reducing financial support for any other women’s intercollegiate team.
The Court in the Quinnipiac University gender bias and sex discrimination class action lawsuit reportedly ordered that the following class be certified pursuant to Rules 23(a) and 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure:
All present, prospective, and future female students at Quinnipiac University who are harmed by and want to end Quinnipiac University’s sex discrimination in: (1) the allocation of athletic participation opportunities; (2) the allocation of athletic financial assistance; and (3) the allocation of benefits provided to varsity athletes.
The Quinnipiac University female student class was reportedly certified with respect to all factual and legal issues relating to the plaintiff’s first, second, and third claims for relief against Quinnipiac in their First Amended Class Action Complaint, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief for, respectively, Quinnipiac’s unequal allocation of athletic participation opportunities, unequal allocation of athletic financial assistance, and unequal allocation of athletic treatment and benefits.
A bench trial on the plaintiffs’ action for a full injunction and damages is reportedly set for June 21,2010.
For more information on the Quinnipiac University gender discrimination class action lawsuit certification decision, read the Quinnipiac University class certification order.
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