Another Baylor Lawsuit Survives Motion to Dismiss

Last week a federal court in Texas ruled that Jasmin Hernandez's case against Baylor may proceed to the discovery phase of litigation, denying the university's effort to dismiss the case for insufficient pleading. The plaintiff alleged that she was sexually assaulted at a party by football player Tevin Elliott. Even though (she alleged) she reported the assault to various university officials, including the football coach Art Briles the university did not take any efforts to investigate or discipline Elliott. She also alleged that prior to her assault, another student had reported Tevin Elliott to the university's chief judicial officer for similar behavior, and that this student was told she was the sixth such student to do so. As such Hernandez claimed that Baylor was on notice of the risk posed by Elliott and was liable for the deliberate indifference that heightened the risk that she would be assaulted. Additionally, she alleged that Baylor was liable for deliberate indifference after she reported her assault, which contributed to her emotional harm.

Both of these claims were sufficiently alleged in the complaint, the court ruled.  However, the latter claim for post-reporting harm was barred by the statute of limitations because the events occurred more than two years ago.  Though the heightened risk claim was also based on events more than two years old, the plaintiff could not have have discovered the university's alleged concealment of sexual misconduct by football players and other students until 2016 when the report of an external investigation in Baylor's failings to respond to a pattern of sexual violence by football players. Until then, the court reasoned, the plaintiff could not have reasonably known that Baylor's alleged indifference had lead to her sexual assault, and thus the the statute of limitations did not begin to run until that time.

Hernandez v. Baylor Univ., No. 6:16-CV-69-RP, 2017 WL 1322262 (W.D. Tex. Apr. 7, 2017).