Opinion ID: 4377578
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Erroneous Outcome

Text: To present a viable claim under the erroneous outcome theory, a plaintiff must allege “facts sufficient to (1) ‘cast some articulable doubt’ on the accuracy of the disciplinary proceeding’s outcome, and (2) demonstrate a ‘particularized causal connection between the flawed outcome and gender bias.’” Doe v. Baum, 903 F.3d 575, 585 (6th Cir. 2018) (ellipsis omitted) (quoting Miami Univ., 882 F.3d at 592). Because Doe’s core argument is that he was subject to unfair procedures that were biased against men, this is the Title IX theory that most naturally fits his allegations. We assume for purposes of argument that Doe has satisfied the first requirement and proceed immediately to the second prong. To allege a particularized causal connection, we have generally required plaintiffs to point to some hint of gender bias in their own disciplinary proceedings. Thus, for example, it is not enough to allege that in all of one university’s sexual assault investigations during the relevant period, “the accused was male and was ultimately found responsible.” Doe v. Cummins, 662 F. App’x 437, 453 (6th Cir. 2016). This prong is satisfied, however, when that same claim is combined with other troubling allegations, including both an affidavit that “describes a pattern of the University pursuing investigations concerning male students, but not female students” and a showing that in the plaintiff’s own case, the university “initiated an investigation into him but not” his female accuser. Miami Univ., 882 F.3d at 593. (In that case, there was an allegation that the accuser herself violated the University’s policies by kissing the plaintiff when he was “inebriated to the extent that he could not consent.” Id. at 591.) Similarly, alleging that a university adopted certain procedures due to pressure from the federal government is not enough on its own, see Cummins, 662 F. App’x at 452–53, but suffices when combined with an allegation that the plaintiff’s hearing body disagreed with the findings of the -6- No. 18-3339, Doe v. Univ. of Dayton initial investigator based on “exclusively female testimony,” even though the reason given for discrediting the men (membership in the accused’s fraternity) applied equally to the women (all members of the accuser’s sorority), Baum, 903 F.3d at 586. In this case, Doe contends that three of his allegations, when considered in their entirety, demonstrate a comparable causal connection to gender bias.1 First, in 2014, Dayton entered into a resolution agreement with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, agreeing to modify its policies for handling complaints. Doe alleges that his discipline was motivated in part by a desire to avoid further federal scrutiny and negative publicity. The helpfulness of this 2014 agreement to Doe’s case is questionable. According to the news article Doe attached to his complaint describing the resolution agreement, “none of the Title IX complaints [spurring the resolution agreement] involved sexual assault.” The policy changes mandated by the resolution agreement—about the role of the Title IX coordinator, the use of informal resolution processes, the right to counsel, and the conduct of a hearing when the complainant and respondent cannot be in the same room—are not the same policies that Doe alleges were indicative of gender bias in his hearing. But even if we assume the agreement is both relevant and indicative of bias, Doe fails to draw any connection between that agreement and his hearing two years later. He does not allege, for example, that the University or the individuals involved in his hearing were facing substantial public pressure or outcry in the weeks leading up to his hearing—facts the Second Circuit found persuasive in Doe v. Columbia University, 831 F.3d 46, 57–58 (2d Cir. 2016). The 2014 agreement therefore does not provide the necessary “particularized” evidence of a causal connection between gender bias and the outcome of Doe’s hearing. See Cummins, 662 F. App’x at 452–53. 1 In Doe’s opening brief, he raised a fourth allegation, related to statistics cited by another Board member in her doctoral thesis. In his reply brief, he acknowledges that the individual mentioned did not serve on Doe’s Hearing Board and so withdraws the argument. -7- No. 18-3339, Doe v. Univ. of Dayton Next, Doe argues that one member of the Hearing Board revealed gender bias by supporting the film The Hunting Ground, which Doe alleges portrays campus sexual assault inaccurately. Just over a year before Doe’s hearing, the Board member posted on Facebook that the film was a “[m]ust see,” indicated it was unacceptable for a fraternity to be known as the “roofie frat,” and agreed with a response implying that men should masturbate instead of “hav[ing] sex with unconscious women.” A single comment made at a substantial temporal remove from Doe’s hearing is of limited value in discerning discrimination—especially when, as here, the discriminatory aspect of the statement is difficult or impossible to discern. It is not problematic for a Board member to express distaste for sex with unconscious partners or for using drugs to obtain consent—both clear violations of Dayton’s “effective consent” policy. And while Doe has alleged that the film is based on inaccurate statistics and discredited accounts, those flaws do not plausibly suggest gender bias in a supporter of the film who was not necessarily aware of the criticisms. Finally, Doe highlights his allegations that, “[u]pon information and belief, in virtually all cases of campus sexual misconduct by Dayton [sic], the accused student is male and the accusing student is female,” and “[u]pon information and belief, Dayton possesses additional documentation evidencing their refusal to discipline female students who were alleged to have sexually assaulted male students.” As previously explained, the fact that sexual assault proceedings have been brought only against male students is not in and of itself sufficient to infer gender bias. Cummins, 662 F. App’x at 453–54. And, more fundamentally, these generalized, conclusory statements, devoid of underlying factual support, do not suffice to allege a particularized causal connection between gender bias and Doe’s suspension. See Baum, 903 F.3d at 585. -8- No. 18-3339, Doe v. Univ. of Dayton In sum, Doe references events that are temporally removed from his hearing and raise little or no inference of discrimination; he then augments those allegations with speculation about evidence he might uncover later in the proceedings. Even considering all Doe’s allegations in combination, they do not show that gender bias had some causal connection to the outcome of his disciplinary hearing. The erroneous outcome theory fails.