Title IX lawsuit settled for $2.48 million

#251
#251
bamawriter said:
This.

And I assume that there is an NDA involved in this settlement, so the plaintiffs can't immediately run to a sympathetic journalist and air the dirty laundry. Go all the way thru litigation, and there's nothing to prevent the accusers from going public, win or lose.
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It's always refreshing to see level-headed fans of other teams/conferences carry a conversation. I half-expected this thread to be filled with some trolls accusing TN of putting football first and not caring about women.

I am glad this decision is finally behind us. It always seemed like it was just people blowing smoke to see if they could cause a fire. The bad press carries cases like this. Now, I'm not saying there is no fault to be found on the university's side. Obviously the case would have never materialized if things had been perfect, but there was just a severe lack of any strong evidence to prove wrong doing which just made this whole thing seem like a charade meant to damage the image of the university.

I follow this twitter account (SEC_Exposed) and it's just hilarious. Their sole purpose in life is to destroy anything related to SEC football. Kind of sad. They have compared the UT case to FSU and Baylor, and that ESPN has protected UT's image unlike how they treated FSU. Shows how much they know about the actual facts.
 
#255
#255
bamawriter said:
What if you feel like the cops aren't investigating? What if you feel like the DA doesn't care? What if you feel like the powers that be are closing ranks around your attacker?

I'm not at all saying that happened here. But saying "settling isn't seeking justice" is extremely shallow thinking.
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I was waiting for those "questions" to come about in the discussion....they're pretty standard "assumptions" that get thrown out there in these type of cases...

And it is NOT the settlement that is the issue...it's the conditions of the settlement that--to me--reveal the shallowness on the part of the plaintiffs, and ultimately the INTENT of the entire lawsuit to be $$$!

Look--it's obvious that you're intelligent enough to know that the plaintiffs never expected their day in court...and that the "justice" they sought in filing this lawsuit was two-fold:

1. Smear the reputation of the University, the Athletic department, and particularly the football program in the court of public opinion;

2. Expect UT to settle.....get $$$ for their pockets while they accomplish number 1 above.

That's WHY I have made my statements about this fiasco of justice.

Would you please explain to me what sort of justice it is that allows the defendants to maintain innocence of all charges while paying $180,000/person to have them shut up and walk away?

I know what the lawyers have said publicly and that UT has promised to hire more people to conduct oversight--but WE all know that those measures are just spraying cologne onto the CRAP...of public opinion.

Truth hasn't been served, and neither has justice...those charges were truly severe in nature and absolutely heinous if they were true.

And we can agree to disagree.....about where the shallowness lies--I say it's on the plaintiffs.....
 
#256
#256
bamawriter said:
This.

And I assume that there is an NDA involved in this settlement, so the plaintiffs can't immediately run to a sympathetic journalist and air the dirty laundry. Go all the way thru litigation, and there's nothing to prevent the accusers from going public, win or lose.
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Good Lord, man---you've just summarized MY DEFINITION of JUSTICE that you called "miopic" and "shallow thinking".....

The settlement had to be APPROVED by the plaintiffs--who, if seeking true justice, would have wanted the opportunity to have their say without being muzzled with $$$....

You must have some Clinton blood in you!! Are you sure that you're not from Arkansas??????
 
#257
#257
MikeVol44 said:
I was waiting for those "questions" to come about in the discussion....they're pretty standard "assumptions" that get thrown out there in these type of cases...

And it is NOT the settlement that is the issue...it's the conditions of the settlement that--to me--reveal the shallowness on the part of the plaintiffs, and ultimately the INTENT of the entire lawsuit to be $$$!
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Honestly, I don't entirely disagree with you. If it seems like I'm trying to ride the fence on this issue it's because that's what I'm doing. I genuinely don't know what constitutes "justice" in this situation because I don't know the facts. It is what it is.

My point is only that "justice" is not nearly as cut-and-dried as we all would like to believe. Is it justice to get this particular pound of flesh out of the school? I don't know. But the fact that they settled for such a relatively paltry amount doesn't mean that justice wasn't served.
 
#258
#258
The money for the settlement will come from UT's Knoxville campus. Half will be paid by the central administration and half by the Athletic Department, using "income-generating activities within the university" such as licensing fees and operations on campus with profits. The settlement will not be paid by state appropriations, student tuition or fees, or donor funds.

Six officials at UT had to approve the terms of the agreement: Jubran, President Joe DiPietro, Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, Director of Athletics Dave Hart, General Counsel Catherine Mizell and interim Chief Financial Officer Ron Maples.

The settlement was also approved at the state level by Attorney General Herbert Slatery III, Comptroller Justin P. Wilson and Haslam.
 
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#259
#259
MikeVol44 said:
The settlement had to be APPROVED by the plaintiffs--who, if seeking true justice, would have wanted the opportunity to have their say without being muzzled with $$$....
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Slow down a little. Remember, this suit is against the school, not the accused individuals. Other than money, the only thing the accusers could get out of this is to force the school to change their policies and procedures when it comes to investigating sexual assault claims.* And in the end, that has happened.

Getting on the stand and reliving what, if true, had to be one of the worst moments of one's life is no small feat. It's not like doing so in this case would have helped send any of the assailants to prison. And as for the money, it's not like this was a slam dunk for the plaintiffs by any stretch of the imagination. Again, is any of this "justice"? I will not pretend to know.



*That schools should be tasked with this at all is insane. While I have not knocked Tennessee's handling of these situations, there are a few issues that they should have thought thru a little. It seems like those will be cleared up going forward. If UT gets out of this for $2.5 million and can fill the gaps before another situation arises, then all-in-all they made out about as well as they could have hoped.
 
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#260
#260
bamawriter said:
Slow down a little. Remember, this suit is against the school, not the accused individuals. Other than money, the only thing the accusers could get out of this is to force the school to change their policies and procedures when it comes to investigating sexual assault claims.* And in the end, that has happened.

Getting on the stand and reliving what, if true, had to be one of the worst moments of one's life is no small feat. It's not like doing so in this case would have helped send any of the assailants to prison. And as for the money, it's not like this was a slam dunk for the plaintiffs by any stretch of the imagination. Again, is any of this "justice"? I will not pretend to know.



*That schools should be tasked with this at all is insane. While I have not knocked Tennessee's handling of these situations, there are a few issues that they should have thought thru a little. It seems like those will be cleared up going forward. If UT gets out of this for $2.5 million and can fill the gaps before another situation arises, then all-in-all they made out about as well as they could have hoped.
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Okay--my man...
It's a very tough issue.....easy to be conflicted about the outcome..
 
#261
#261
HEY! Here's one cool thing! Look past the details of the settlement, and the short-term ripples that will flow from it ... look a few days beyond that ... we're 100% free to focus on football now!

That is a glorious thing. No more distraction. Woot, go Vols, kick some 2016 butt! :)
 
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#262
#262
VFL-82-JP said:
HEY! Here's one cool thing! Look past the details of the settlement, and the short-term ripples that will flow from it ... look a few days beyond that ... we're 100% free to focus on football now!

That is a glorious thing. No more distraction. Woot, go Vols, kick some 2016 butt! :)
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But we need to argue and bicker over something until then!
 
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#263
#263
I'd be shocked if all of the plaintiffs were lying. If any of them are truthful, which I'd expect at least one is, this settlement was never about the money for them. It was about shedding light on an issue by forcing the university to pay it attention. Only way to get that attention is by putting a big price tag on it.

I guarantee Tennessee will do better in the future regarding sexual assault/rape allegations. For those people who have attended Tennessee and have been sexually assaulted in the past...knowing that Tennessee will focus more on these issues in the future will bring some small sense of closure to them. I can't be upset about that.
 
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#264
#264
crusse10 said:
I'd be shocked if all of the plaintiffs were lying. If any of them are truthful, which I'd expect at least one is, this settlement was never about the money for them. It was about shedding light on an issue by forcing the university to pay it attention. Only way to get that attention is by putting a big price tag on it.

I guarantee Tennessee will do better in the future regarding sexual assault/rape allegations. For those people who have attended Tennessee and have been sexually assaulted in the past...knowing that Tennessee will focus more on these issues in the future will bring some small sense of closure to them. I can't be upset about that.
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And here also is what the attorney who filed the Complaint has said about the experience (as from the ESPN article) -- of course, one is right to consider why he didn't simply make this statement last week or sooner // prior to the settlement payment, but anyway, it's pretty clear the university culture is good, just like the head coaches + the 3 players said on camera earlier:

"My clients and I are dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice and signed the settlement agreement," Smith said in a statement. "We are satisfied that, while universities everywhere struggle with these issues, the University of Tennessee has made significant progress in the way they educate and respond to sexual assault cases. My clients and I are also convinced that the University's leadership is truly committed to continue its exemplary efforts to create a model as it relates to sexual misconduct.

"If we all can look ahead and imagine our state's flagship university as a leader in awareness, education, support and aggressive response to these issues, this lawsuit and the resulting outcome would have contributed in a small way to the safety, well-being and hopeful futures of many young people who from time to time call the University of Tennessee home."
 
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#265
#265
NashLawVol said:
This case was headed for settlement the moment it was filed. There was no other logical outcome. People saying UT should have fought it all the way to a jury verdict fail to take into account how much time, money and personal toll that would take. The only thing I am in shock about is the amount it settled for. From the outside looking in I thought it would be valued higher than the $2.5 million it settled for. My personal opinion is once the judge imposed the gag order the Plaintiffs lost the ability to apply pressure daily with stories in the Tennessean. Once the daily drumbeat of bad press stopped the Plaintiffs lost the ability to control the public opinion so they settled.
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This right here in a big ole nutshell.
 
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#267
#267
BaldBiker said:
Lol.....without paying lawyers, for eight plaintiffs, it comes out to $310,000 each. Since the lawyers get theirs first.....then taxes. May be enough to buy an average house somewhere.
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Hmmmmm $310,000 less 33% to attorneys =$206,666.66. Less Tax rate of at least 33% = $138,466.66. Now I don't know if it is evenly divided among the 8, or the attorneys %, and certainly not their tax status, so just speculating. Wouldn't buy much of a house IMO, but then I wouldn't turn down $1.38K either. Free money is free money.

Not dissing you, I like your posts, BB. Just running numbers in my head (bad habit:ermm:).
 
#268
#268
UT-Rex said:
And here also is what the attorney who filed the Complaint has said about the experience (as from the ESPN article) -- of course, one is right to consider why he didn't simply make this statement last week or sooner // prior to the settlement payment, but anyway, it's pretty clear the university culture is good, just like the head coaches + the 3 players said on camera earlier:

"My clients and I are dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice and signed the settlement agreement," Smith said in a statement. "We are satisfied that, while universities everywhere struggle with these issues, the University of Tennessee has made significant progress in the way they educate and respond to sexual assault cases. My clients and I are also convinced that the University's leadership is truly committed to continue its exemplary efforts to create a model as it relates to sexual misconduct.

"If we all can look ahead and imagine our state's flagship university as a leader in awareness, education, support and aggressive response to these issues, this lawsuit and the resulting outcome would have contributed in a small way to the safety, well-being and hopeful futures of many young people who from time to time call the University of Tennessee home."
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He forgot to add, "and we all got money which is all we ever cared about:crazy::crazy::crazy::eek:lol:
 
#269
#269
Smallvol#1 said:
Hmmmmm $310,000 less 33% to attorneys =$206,666.66. Less Tax rate of at least 33% = $138,466.66. Now I don't know if it is evenly divided among the 8, or the attorneys %, and certainly not their tax status, so just speculating. Wouldn't buy much of a house IMO, but then I wouldn't turn down $1.38K either. Free money is free money.

Not dissing you, I like your posts, BB. Just running numbers in my head (bad habit:ermm:).
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On injury settlements you don't have to pay taxes on it. You would pay off of the interest if you structure the settlement and gain interest off of it. Now this type of claim I'm not sure honestly.
 
#270
#270
Smart move on UT's part with SEC Media days in less than a week. Jones and the players might not have to handle questions on the topic.
 
#271
#271
I think this settlement might help Alexis Johnson to be reinstated. When is his hearing before the student panel???
 
#272
#272
jordan4vols said:
On injury settlements you don't have to pay taxes on it. You would pay off of the interest if you structure the settlement and gain interest off of it. Now this type of claim I'm not sure honestly.
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Not sure either. Someone posted it was settled as personal injury and not taxable. Doesn't matter, done is done.

And it was the financially correct decision.....just still p****** me off that they collected a penny. And you know all the trolls and others will be screaming, "They settled! They were GUILTY! They acknowledged that by settling! They KNEW they would LOSE!!!"
 
#275
#275
BACKDOC said:
There was no way they would reinstate him with this lawsuit hanging over their heads. He at least now has a chance. Maybe you are right; care to explain.
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I am not the poster you are responding to, but here's my opinion: I do not believe Alexis Johnson will be reinstated until after his charges get completely dropped in October, if he stays out of trouble. By then, the season is halfway over. He will be redshirted and then will play ball next season. Again, JMO.
 
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