Melissa Maher v. Iowa State University
Opinion
Melissa Maher appeals the district court's 1 grant of Iowa State University's ("ISU") motion for summary judgment. She argues that her action is not barred by the applicable statute of limitations and *1212 that ISU was deliberately indifferent. We affirm.
Patrick Whetstone sexually assaulted Maher in March 2014. Both Maher and Whetstone were ISU students at the time. Maher reported the assault to ISU, and ISU began an investigation after Maher identified her assailant in May 2014. ISU subsequently issued a no-contact order that prohibited Whetstone from interacting with Maher.
When Maher returned to ISU in the late summer of 2014, she discovered that Whetstone lived in a building close to her own. Maher, her parents, and her roommate met with ISU administration to discuss a housing change on August 20, 2014. At that meeting, ISU explained that it could not move Whetstone until the investigation and hearing process concluded. ISU presented at least two alternative housing arrangements for Maher. 2 She declined both. On September 19, 2014, ISU's investigative report concluded that Whetstone sexually assaulted Maher. Maher withdrew from ISU shortly after. On July 22, 2015, an administrative judge found that Whetstone was responsible for violating ISU's Code of Conduct and expelled him.
Maher filed a Title IX action against ISU on September 9, 2016.
"We review a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party."
Ridenour v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharm., Inc.
,
We assume, without deciding, that Maher's claim survives Iowa's statute of limitations. Thus, we consider Maher's Title IX claim on the merits. Title IX requires that "[n]o person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination
*1213
under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
Maher argues that "[i]t wasn't until [ISU] refused to move the man it admitted raped Maher and offered no comparable housing that .... [ISU] was deliberately indifferent to Maher." In other words, Maher argues that ISU's handling of the housing situation became deliberately indifferent only after ISU's investigative report concluded that Whetstone sexually assaulted Maher. A school is deliberately indifferent when its "response to the harassment or lack thereof is clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances."
Davis Next Friend LaShonda D. v. Monroe Cty. Bd. of Educ.
,
Before the conclusion of ISU's investigative report, ISU had offered Maher at least two reasonable housing alternatives that would have resolved Maher's objection to the housing situation: a converted housing den or a room at the Memorial Union Hotel. But Maher declined both of those options, and dissatisfaction with the school's response does not mean the school's response can be characterized as deliberate indifference.
See
Ostrander v. Duggan
,
And while Maher's preference was that ISU move Whetstone, it was not deliberately indifferent for ISU to wait to take such action until the hearing process concluded because ISU was respecting Whetstone's procedural due process rights.
See
Keefe v. Adams
,
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm.
The Honorable Helen C. Adams, Chief Magistrate Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, to whom the case was referred by consent of the parties pursuant to
ISU claims it presented three options to Maher, including a room reserved for emergency situations. But Maher claims that "[t]he facts establish that [ISU] generally maintains a small number of beds for emergency situations, but not that any were available for Maher or that one was offered to Maher." On a motion for summary judgment, we construe the record in the light most favorable to Maher.
See
Scott v. Harris
,
Title IX does not include a statute of limitations. Instead, Title IX claims are "governed by the state's personal injury statute of limitations."
Walker v. Barrett
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Melissa MAHER, Plaintiff - Appellant v. IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY, Defendant - Appellee
- Cited By
- 11 cases
- Status
- Published