Judge backs Title IX settlement between Fresno State, women’s lacrosse players

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — A federal judge on Monday called a proposed settlement between a California state university and former women athletes “unusual.”

That’s because the class action, nearing resolution, involves no payment to the plaintiffs.

“That is rare but also a sign of what animates the case here,” U.S. Senior District Judge Kimberly Mueller said.

The class action members — who filed in 2021 in the Eastern District of California against California State University, Fresno, and its board of trustees — accused the university of treating women’s lacrosse players worse than other teams. Class members argued the defendants denied them equal chances for athletic financial aid and treatment, a violation of Title IX. The defendants also eliminated the lacrosse team at the end of the 2020-21 academic year, along with the men’s tennis and wrestling teams.

The settlement calls for the appointment of a third party that will perform a Title IX gender equity review under protocol agreed to by both sides. It also requires the creation of a gender equity plan ensuring compliance with Title IX requirements for participation opportunities, as well as athletic treatment and benefits for men and women.

Annual summary reports confirming the gender equity plan’s use, along with posting a notice of the gender equity review on the athletic program’s websites, are also part of the agreement.

Additionally, if the women’s participation gap is 40 or larger in two consecutive academic years, or 30 or larger in three consecutive years, Fresno State will make a new women’s varsity team if no other participation methods exist to shrink that gap.

The agreement calls for these changes to occur through July 31, 2029.

While calling the settlement unusual, Mueller also said it was meaningful. The Barack Obama appointee said she reviewed the proposed order granting the settlement, adding that she had no concerns that typically arise in these kinds of cases.

Mueller wanted an in-person hearing to see if anyone objected to the terms of the settlement. No one did, and the judge at the end of the hearing said she’d issue an order granting it.

Both sides agreed class attorneys would receive $900,000 in fees, paid by Fresno State. Attorney Brian Schwartz, representing the defendants, noted it was an amount they’d vigorously negotiated. Class attorneys said they wouldn’t seek more.

“This is a long-running, hard-fought case,” Mueller said, indicating the fees were appropriate.

The judge also said she’d retain jurisdiction in case disputes arise.

The case has moved slowly through the court system, at one point reaching the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Initially asking a judge to stay the team’s elimination, the class received a mixed bag. The judge allowed Fresno State to eliminate the lacrosse team, though it did have to treat it equally for the remainder of that academic year.

Some claims failed as the suit progressed, though its effective accommodation and equal treatment claims remained intact. The issue of class certification reached the Ninth Circuit in 2024, with the appeals court vacating a lower court’s denial of certification.

That set the stage for a lower court’s March ruling denying the college’s motion to dismiss and granting a motion to certify class.

Attorneys for both sides thanked Mueller on Monday for presiding over the case.

“We are incredibly pleased that it seems as though the court is going to approve the class-action settlement,” attorney Lori Bullock, representing the class, told Courthouse News. “We’re incredibly proud for having represented the plaintiffs in this case.”