Details emerge from Tennessee Title IX lawsuit settlement
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Tennessee reached a settlement in its Title IX lawsuit on Tuesday, agreeing to pay the plaintiffs $2.48 million, including attorney fees. Radio host Jimmy Hyams of WNML in Knoxville reported on some of the time and financial details of the suit Thursday.
BREAKING NEWS: Regarding Title IX lawsuit against UT, appointment date for Nashville attorneys Neal & Harwell was June 18, 2015.
— Jimmy Hyams (@JimmyHyams) July 7, 2016
That means firm was hired BEFORE lawsuit was filed Feb. 24,
suggesting firm was in on settlement talks before lawsuit was filed— Jimmy Hyams (@JimmyHyams) July 7, 2016
To date, the total amount State is paying for legal services
and expenses to Neal & Harwell is $539,747.76— Jimmy Hyams (@JimmyHyams) July 7, 2016
Legal fees are initially paid out of a billing account for
Special Litigation, but are billed back to UT. So UT ultimately pays
these fees— Jimmy Hyams (@JimmyHyams) July 7, 2016
The conditions of the settlement were reported to be the following:
UT officials also agreed to have an independent commission review all responses to sexual assaults at all the schools within its system. UT did not, however, admit to “guilt, negligence or unlawful” acts under the terms of the settlement.
The plaintiffs agreed to withdraw two complaints regarding how the school handled sexual assaults filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights in 2015, but it has not been determined whether that will cease an ongoing probe of potential violations of Title IX rules that regulate how schools must respond to sexual assaults.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
