BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana State University (LSU) has settled a federal lawsuit filed by ten women alleging mishandling of their sexual misconduct cases, court records show.
The settlement, whose details remain undisclosed, comes after a three-year legal battle and the denial of LSU's motion to dismiss several claims by U.S. District Court Judge Wendy Vitter in December.
The lawsuit accused LSU's athletic department of implementing a flawed sexual misconduct reporting system to internally manage allegations against athletes, allegedly violating federal and state laws.
Notably, former LSU running back Derrius Guice faced multiple allegations, including rape and unauthorized sharing of explicit photos, while former tennis player Jade Lewis accused football player Drake Davis of physical assault.
Defendants included former head football coaches Ed Orgeron, former athletic director Joe Alleva, and former tennis coaches Julia and Michael Sell, who were dismissed from the case in January 2022.
LSU declined to comment on the settlement, and Karen Truszkowski, legal counsel for the plaintiffs, refrained from providing further statements.
The case garnered attention after a 2020 investigation and led to protests on the LSU campus. It prompted an independent investigation by the law firm Husch Blackwell, confirming systemic failures.
Consequently, former university president F. King Alexander resigned from Oregon State University, and former football coach Les Miles stepped down from the University of Kansas.
While the federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights closed in June 2023, a separate inquiry into LSU's compliance with the Clery Act continues.