Text Box: Legal Advocacy Fund Text Box: 3) Mansourian, et al. v. Regents of the University of California, et al. The parties completed a summary judgment briefing in early April 2008.  A hearing was held in April, the the court ruled that there was not sufficient notice of discrimination.  Mansourians's attorney will file an appeal. 4) Potera-Haskins v. Gamble, Montana State University, et al. On September 28, 2007, Potera-Haskins received a partial victory in her case.  Although the court dismissed her Title VII claims it allowed her Title IX claims to move forward.  A trial date was set for February 1, 2008; however in early December 2007, the district court unexpectedly vacated the trial date without explantion and stated that a new trial date would be set in the future after pretrial evidentiary motions are heard and ruled upon.  A new trial is set for October 20, 2008.   Settlements and Decisions 1) Schuster v. Berea College Schuster's attorney filed her motion for appeal in September 2007.  In March 2008, a three-judge panel was seated to review and rule on the appeal.  They began their review and deliberations in May 2008, and ruled in Text Box: Schuster's favor in August 2008. 2) Doe v. Berry College Doe, a student at Berry College in Georgia, sued the college for sexual harassment and assault in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and other claims in violation of Georgia state law.  In December 2007, the federal court dismissed Doe's claims against Berry College without prejudice. 3) Brodsky v. Kaleida Health and State University of New York at Buffalo Brodsky, a medical doctor and tenured full professor at SUNY-Buffalo, sued the university for pay discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII and the Equal Pay Act.  Brodsky filed suit in federal district court in September 2001.  In May 2008, Brodsky settled her case with SUNY-Buffalo and resolved all related litgation. 4) Chichilnisky v. Columbia University Chichilnisky, professor of statistics at Columbia University and UNESCO professor of math and economics, sued the university for pay discrimination, retaliation, and breach of settlemen agreement in violation of New York state laws in 2000.  On June 26, 2008, after a 10-day trial, Chichilnisky settled with Columbia University for an undisclosed amount. Text Box:  This spring, the AAUW Educational Foundation Board of Directors voted to move the direction of LAF's case support away from direct plaintiff support toward support of cases that will have national significance for women in all workplaces.  Therefore, while we have continued to work with our current plaintiffs, no new cases have been adopted since this decision. Pending Cases 1) Ilon v. The State University of New York, Buffalo, et al. A hearing took place in April, and the judge ruled in favor of the defendants.  Ilon's attorney may file a motion for a new trial. 2) Jaureguito v. Thein and Wartluft v. Feather River Community College Feather River College recently filed motions in both state and federal courts to stay all proceedings until such time that the California State Personnel Board could render a decision on Thein, Wartluff, and Jaureguito's whistle-blower claims.  No decision has been made by the board.  The plaintiffs opposed the college's motions and asked that the Butte County Superior Court set these matters for trial as soon as possible.  The Butte County Superior Court is expected to rule in August.  The Title IX claims of all three cases are currently set for trial in April 2009 in federal court.

By LAF Liaison

Marilyn Roland

rolandm2@comcast.net
Text Box: Volume 29, Number 2 October, 2008 Page #

LAF Currently Supports Eight Lawsuits (Material from the LAF/Updates)