Brown University to Pay Over $1 Million in Title IX Case For Female Athletes' Costs, Attorneys' Fees

Brown University to Pay Over $1 Million in Title IX Case For Female Athletes' Costs, Attorneys' Fees

U.S. District Court Chief Judge John McConnell, Jr. approved a stipulated order on Tuesday in Cohen v. Brown University, the landmark Title IX case, requiring Brown University to pay $1,135,000 for the attorneys’ fees and $40,000 for the litigation expenses incurred by the class of women student-athletes who challenged the school’s elimination of women’s teams from its varsity intercollegiate athletics program in June 2020.  

On Tuesday, Brown refuted claims made on Tuesday by the plaintiff's attorney. 

 

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ACLU Claims Victory

"In 1992, women student-athletes successfully sued Brown for denying them athletic opportunities provided to Brown’s men, resulting in several precedent-setting decisions that held the school accountable for violating both Title IX by depriving women of equal opportunities to participate and a 1998 consent decree mandating compliance with that law.  In 2020, the plaintiff class returned to court, charging that the elimination of four women’s teams violated the 1998 consent decree," said the RI ACLU. 

“This order should send a message to schools nationwide,” said Arthur Bryant of Bailey Glasser, LLP, one of the class co-counsel for the women. “Title IX is the law. It prohibits sex discrimination. If schools violate Title IX, they will pay. If schools violate Title IX, refuse to admit it, and fight in the courts, they will pay more. And they’ll still have to comply with law.”  

Class-counsel Lynette Labinger, cooperating attorney for the ACLU of Rhode Island, said, “Countless women locally and nationally have benefitted from the efforts of the women at Brown who have championed this case over three decades through to its current conclusion.  We hope that this substantial award, coming after the restoration of two of the women’s teams and the obligation to cut no more, will send a message to all colleges and universities in Rhode Island and elsewhere to carefully examine their athletic programs, renew their commitment to ensure that their women athletes are being treated fairly and equitably and to recognize that decisions to cut programs to save money may prove more costly than the projected savings themselves.

The ACLU continued:

In the settlement of the 2020 dispute, Brown agreed to reinstate its women’s varsity equestrian and fencing teams. It further agreed to maintain full support for all women’s teams and not to reduce their future support compared to men’s teams. Brown also agreed not to eliminate or reduce the status of any women’s varsity team or add any men’s team (without adding another women’s team) for at least the next four years, during which the University will be required to comply with the consent decree it agreed to in 1998. The consent decree will expire on August 31, 2024, but, after that, the University must still ensure equal opportunities in its athletics programs under Title IX.   

As part of the settlement of the 2020 dispute, Brown also agreed to pay the "reasonable attorneys’ fees" and costs for the attorneys representing the women athletes. After a mediation conducted by Magistrate Judge Patricia Sullivan of the U.S. District Court, the parties agreed on $1.135 million in fees and $40,000 in costs, which was approved today by Chief Judge McConnell. 

Class counsel for the female student-athletes include Lynette Labinger of Providence, RI, for the ACLU of Rhode Island; Arthur Bryant, Leslie Brueckner, and Lori Bullock of Bailey Glasser, LLP, in Oakland, CA, and Des Moines, IA ; and Jill Zwagerman of Newkirk Zwagerman, LLP, in Des Moines, IA. 

 

Brown Fires Back 

Brian Clark, spokesperson for Brown University, issued the following statement in response: 

"The comments from the plaintiffs’ attorney regarding today’s order are blatantly misleading. The order to pay attorneys’ fees does not constitute any court decision regarding the substance of the 2020 legal claims by the plaintiffs in Cohen v. Brown, which were settled in December of that year. The group of attorneys who filed the 2020 claims asserted that Brown breached a 1998 joint agreement that established requirements for equity in opportunities for women and men student athletes. Brown disagreed with all claims and settled the matter with no finding of liability, agreeing to cover attorneys’ fees to avoid the time and expense of further litigation. The settlement set a 2024 end date to the Cohen joint agreement, enabled Brown to move forward with key provisions of a plan to strengthen athletics and returned two teams to varsity status.

The court’s decision today marked a final step, as the judge approved the monetary terms for attorneys’ fees jointly agreed to by Brown and the plaintiffs. Despite the misleading public statements issued by the plaintiffs’ attorneys following the approval of those terms, Brown has at no time since the original decision in Cohen v. Brown more than 25 years ago been found in violation of Title IX. Instead, Brown has remained steadfastly committed to providing equal athletic opportunities for women and men. We continue now to build on Brown’s track record of leadership in upholding Title IX, ensuring excellent athletics opportunities for women and men, and fielding a roster of Brown Athletics varsity teams that are among the most competitive among our peers."

First published 11/8/2022 2:07 PM

Updated 11/8/2022 9:11 PM