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A federal judge Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against the University of Colorado filed by two women whose allegations of sexual abuse sparked a scandal last year over its football team's recruiting practices.
The plaintiffs say they were raped by football players or recruits, but U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn said the plaintiffs failed to meet two key criteria in claiming the school violated federal Title IX law by fostering an atmosphere that led to their alleged assaults.
The judge said Lisa Simpson - who has agreed to be identified in media reports - and the other woman failed to prove the university had actual knowledge of sexual harassment. He also said they didn't show the school was deliberately indifferent to any known sexual harassment.
"There is no dispute that the sexual assaults described by the plaintiffs constitute severe and objectively offensive sexual harassment," Blackburn said. "However, I conclude that ... no rational trier of fact could conclude that the plaintiffs have established the first and second elements listed above."
The women had filed separate lawsuits that were later combined. A third woman who had filed a similar lawsuit withdrew it earlier.
The trial had been scheduled to begin in two months. Under Blackburn's decision, the case cannot be refiled and the school was awarded court costs.
"It's a huge victory for the University of Colorado, and frankly for hundreds of other universities around the country," said Dan Reilly, hired by the university as a trial lawyer.
Peggy Jessel, an attorney for one of the plaintiffs, didn't return a message.
The dismissal was an abrupt end to a case that grabbed the state's attention for months and led to coach Gary Barnett being suspended for three months before last season.
The scandal erupted last year when a deposition quoting Boulder County District Attorney Mary Keenan was made public. In it, she said the university used sex and alcohol to lure top recruits and that school officials knew it.
The allegations led to a grand jury investigation and a Board of Regents-backed probe that concluded drugs, alcohol and sex were used to entice recruits to the Boulder campus, though none of practices were sanctioned by university officials.
The grand jury investigated claims that nine women since 1997 had been assaulted by football players or recruits, but declined to file charges in part because of the reluctance of any of the women to come forward.
The school responded by putting some of the most stringent policies in place for any football recruiting program. But the fallout included the pending resignation of Hoffman and the departure of Athletics Director Dick Tharp.
The scandal didn't seem to affect the Buffaloes on the field last season. Barnett's team went 8-5, winning the Big 12 West.
Source: AP
The plaintiffs say they were raped by football players or recruits, but U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn said the plaintiffs failed to meet two key criteria in claiming the school violated federal Title IX law by fostering an atmosphere that led to their alleged assaults.
The judge said Lisa Simpson - who has agreed to be identified in media reports - and the other woman failed to prove the university had actual knowledge of sexual harassment. He also said they didn't show the school was deliberately indifferent to any known sexual harassment.
"There is no dispute that the sexual assaults described by the plaintiffs constitute severe and objectively offensive sexual harassment," Blackburn said. "However, I conclude that ... no rational trier of fact could conclude that the plaintiffs have established the first and second elements listed above."
The women had filed separate lawsuits that were later combined. A third woman who had filed a similar lawsuit withdrew it earlier.
The trial had been scheduled to begin in two months. Under Blackburn's decision, the case cannot be refiled and the school was awarded court costs.
"It's a huge victory for the University of Colorado, and frankly for hundreds of other universities around the country," said Dan Reilly, hired by the university as a trial lawyer.
Peggy Jessel, an attorney for one of the plaintiffs, didn't return a message.
The dismissal was an abrupt end to a case that grabbed the state's attention for months and led to coach Gary Barnett being suspended for three months before last season.
The scandal erupted last year when a deposition quoting Boulder County District Attorney Mary Keenan was made public. In it, she said the university used sex and alcohol to lure top recruits and that school officials knew it.
The allegations led to a grand jury investigation and a Board of Regents-backed probe that concluded drugs, alcohol and sex were used to entice recruits to the Boulder campus, though none of practices were sanctioned by university officials.
The grand jury investigated claims that nine women since 1997 had been assaulted by football players or recruits, but declined to file charges in part because of the reluctance of any of the women to come forward.
The school responded by putting some of the most stringent policies in place for any football recruiting program. But the fallout included the pending resignation of Hoffman and the departure of Athletics Director Dick Tharp.
The scandal didn't seem to affect the Buffaloes on the field last season. Barnett's team went 8-5, winning the Big 12 West.
Source: AP