## Facts

- On September 3, 2017, Jane Doe, a Union College undergraduate, alleged she was raped by fellow student John Roe at a fraternity party.
- The next day, Doe reported the alleged rape to Melissa Kelley, the college’s Title IX coordinator.
- Doe alleged Kelley directed her to contact the college’s wellness center but did not investigate the report or report the alleged rape to appropriate authorities.
- In January 2018, after Doe began experiencing severe anxiety and depression, Doe and her mother went to the Title IX office and met with Kelley and the director of campus safety.
- At that meeting, Doe received the college’s Title IX policy and an explanation of the procedure for filing a complaint; Doe then submitted a written complaint.
- Doe alleged the college handled the matter contrary to its written Title IX procedures, including allowing Roe to review Doe’s written complaint before submitting his own written statement.
- Doe also alleged process imbalances in the campus proceeding: Roe received hearing materials that Doe did not receive, and Roe was allowed to submit an impact statement while Doe was not.
- After the investigation and related process, the college found Roe not responsible.
- Doe sued Union College and other defendants, including the fraternity (TD Chi) and certain college officials, asserting Title IX and related state-law claims based on the college’s response to her report.
- Defendants moved to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6).

## Issues

1. Whether Doe plausibly stated a Title IX damages claim against Union College by alleging the college had actual notice of her report of sexual assault and responded in a manner that could be found clearly unreasonable, resulting in discrimination in an education program or activity.
2. Whether Doe plausibly stated a New York breach-of-contract claim against Union College based on alleged failures to carry out specific promises in the college’s written Title IX policies and procedures.
3. Whether claims against the fraternity and other defendants should be dismissed at the pleading stage for failure to state a claim.

## Decision

- The court granted the motions to dismiss in part and denied them in part.
- The Title IX post-assault deliberate-indifference claim against Union College survived because Doe alleged concrete departures from the college’s own procedures that could plausibly be found clearly unreasonable in light of what the college allegedly knew.
- Doe’s breach-of-contract claim against Union College also survived to the extent it was based on identified policy provisions and specific alleged departures in how the college processed her complaint.
- The fraternity (TD Chi) was dismissed from the case on its motion to dismiss.
- Other claims and/or defendants were dismissed in part; the order permitted the core Title IX and contract claims against Union College to proceed.

## Legal Principles

- A Title IX damages claim against a federal funding recipient requires allegations supporting actual notice of sexual harassment and a response that could be found deliberately indifferent (i.e., clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances).
- On a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the court accepts well-pleaded factual allegations as true and asks whether the complaint states a plausible claim for relief.
- Allegations that a school processed a sexual-assault complaint in direct contravention of its written procedures can support a plausible inference of deliberate indifference at the pleading stage.
- Under New York law, a student may state a breach-of-contract claim against a private college by pointing to specific promises in written policies and alleging specific ways the school failed to carry them out; generalized dissatisfaction with an outcome is not enough.
- Where multiple defendants are sued, each claim must include sufficient factual allegations linking the particular defendant to the alleged misconduct to survive dismissal.

## Conclusion

Doe v. Union College, 2020 WL 1063063 (N.D.N.Y. Mar. 5, 2020) held that a student plausibly stated Title IX deliberate-indifference and related breach-of-contract claims against Union College based on alleged concrete departures from the college’s written Title IX procedures in response to her reported sexual assault, while dismissing the fraternity and other parts of the case at the pleading stage.


Doe v. Union College, 2020 WL 1063063 (2020)