On January 18, 2008, Plaintiffs filed a Complaint against the Board of Trustees of the Florida Gulf Coast University ("FGCU") under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title IX") in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Plaintiffs were former head coaches for the women's athletic program at FGCU; they claimed that FGCU retaliated against them after they complained about sex discrimination and advocated for gender equity in FGCU's Athletic Department. One of the plaintiffs also claimed that FGSU defamed her by making false public statements intended to damage her professional reputation. Plaintiffs asked the Court for declaratory and injunctive relief and damages.

After plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint, on October 10, 2008, the parties reached a settlement agreement. Pursuant to the agreement, FGSU agreed to pay damages totaling $3,400,000. FGSU also agreed to hire an independent expert in Title IX to review and monitor FGCU's compliance with the law for five years.

On October 15, 2008, upon the parties' joint stipulation, the case was dismissed with prejudice. The District retained jurisdiction to enforce the terms of the Settlement Agreement.

Xin Chen - 05/07/2011


compress summary