The Zalkin Law Firm Secures Landmark Ruling in Title IX Sexual Assault

Lawsuit Against University of California Berkeley

Ninth Circuit Rules Educational Institutions Can be Held Liable for Maintaining a Pattern of
Failing to Respond to Sexual Misconduct

San Diego, CA, February 03, 2020 --(PR.com)-- The U.S. Court of Appeals - Ninth Circuit issued a
ruling on January 30, 2020 in favor of an appeal filed by The Zalkin Law Firm on behalf of three former
University of California Berkeley students who alleged in a 2015 lawsuit that they were sexually
assaulted at the University (Karasek et. al. v. Regents of the University of California Case, No.
18-15841). Zalkin Law attorney Alex Zalkin argued before the Court of Appeals that the University
should be held liable for “pre-assault” claims which allege that its policies for enforcing Title IX are
inadequate. For the first time, a Court of Appeals has ruled that an institution can be held liable for
maintaining a campus-wide policy or practice of indifference to sexual harassment and sexual assault
claims which, the Court found, creates a “heightened risk” for sexual misconduct that leads a complainant
to be harassed or assaulted.

Federal law known as Title IX prohibits educational institutions from discriminating based on gender.
Traditionally, Title IX has been interpreted to require institutions that receive complaints of sexual
misconduct to exercise due diligence in investigating and responding to those complaints. However, the
Ninth Circuit has now acknowledged that educational institutions can also be liable under Title IX if they
maintained a policy or practice of indifference to sexual misconduct on campus generally which created a
heightened risk for an individual to experience sexual misconduct.

“This ruling gives new hope to victims of campus sexual assault. It now puts all educational institutions
on notice that they must have effective policies that ensure a prompt and adequate response to protect
students from sexual harassment and sexual assault including making sure that victims are treated fairly,
that accusations are investigated immediately, and that victims are offered protections from further
harm,” said Alex Zalkin, attorney for the Plaintiffs.

The 2015 Complaint alleged two theories of Title IX liability: First, that UC Berkeley maintained a
school wide policy and practice of indifference to sexual assault claims creating a heightened risk of a
sexually hostile environment; And second, that school administrators acted with deliberate indifference to
the actual reports of sexual assault by these three plaintiffs and failed to take interim measures to protect
them from being vulnerable to potential ongoing sexual harassment by their perpetrators. The Ninth
Circuit did uphold the dismissal of the post reporting deliberate indifference allegations (although it made
clear its concern over the school's response) but reversed and remanded on the policy-based theory (what
is referred to as the pre-assault claims).

The Opinion included the Tenth Circuit's opinion in Simpson v. University of Colorado Boulder, 500
F.3d 1170 (10th Cir. 2007). That case involved a policy of indifference within the school's football
program. In this case, the University argued that the distinction between Simpson and the Plaintiffs'
claims is that the former involved a specific program, whereas the Plaintiffs here were asking the court to

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apply the theory to the entire school, which the University argued was inconsistent with the ruling in
Simpson.

The Complaint in this case alleges that a State of California audit found a history of Title IX violations by
the University, including that University officials were using an informal process to investigate sexual
assault claims. The Complaint also alleges that the University used informal investigations to shield itself
from publicly reporting sexual assault crimes on campus which was, and is, required by the Federal
Cleary Act. The Complaint further outlines the details of alleged sexual assaults of the three Plaintiff
victims, Sophie Karasek, Aryle Butler and Nicoletta Commins, who were all students at UC Berkeley
when they were assaulted. Ms. Karasek was allegedly sexually assaulted by another student during an
organized off campus trip of the Cal Berkeley Democrats Club in February 2012. Ms. Butler was
allegedly sexually assaulted on multiple occasions in the summer of 2012 by a guest lecturer at UC
Berkeley and faculty member at the Alaska Wildlands Studies Program. Ms. Commins was sexually
assaulted by another UC Berkeley student in January 2012 who was later convicted in a criminal court.

The Complaint alleges that all three victims reported these incidents of sexual assault to university
authorities who failed to take adequate actions to investigate or protect the women from further harm. As
a result of the Ninth Circuit's ruling, the 2015 Civil Complaint will now be returned to the District Court
for the Northern District of California.

For a copy of the ruling see: http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2020/01/30/18-15841.pdf

About The Zalkin Law Firm

With offices in San Diego, CA and New York, NY, the firm's lawyers have represented hundreds of
survivors of sexual abuse and sexual assault and achieved results in numerous high-profile sexual abuse
and assault cases across the United States. The Zalkin Law Firm has aggressively represented survivors
who suffered child sexual abuse and sexual assault while members of religious and other organizations,
including the Catholic Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Boy Scouts, and schools and universities. The firm
has represented victims of sexual assault in Title IX cases against major universities across the country
including students from Baylor University, Michigan State, Harvard, and Columbia Universities. For
more information visit: www.zalkin.com

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Contact Information:
The Zalkin Law Firm
Alex Zalkin
858-259-3011
Contact via Email
zalkin.com

Online Version of Press Release:

You can read the online version of this press release at: https://www.pr.com/press-release/804817

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