Opinion ID: 20890
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: We begin our analysis by determining our jurisdiction to entertain these appeals. We must address the jurisdictional issues of standing, mootness, state sovereign immunity, and class certification; we address these issues in no particular order. 5 We proceed, first, by reviewing the district court’s decision to decertify the class it provisionally certified on September 14, 1995. Next, with regard to standing, we determine whether the district court correctly determined that the Pederson Plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue their claims and whether it correctly determined that Appellants lacked standing to pursue their claims of unequal treatment in existing varsity sports at LSU. Third, we examine Appellees’ contentions regarding mootness. Finally, we determine whether the doctrine of sovereign immunity bars suit in this case.
5 When questions of both Article III jurisdiction and class certification are presented, the class certification questions, at times, “should be treated first because class certification issues are ‘logically antecedent’ to Article III concerns and pertain to statutory standing, which may properly be treated before Article III standing.” Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corp., 119 S. Ct. 2295, 2300 (1999) (quoting Amchem Products, Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 612 (1997) ) (internal citations omitted). Because the class certification issue presented here is not outcome determinative, as it was in both Ortiz and Amchem, it need not, in our minds, be treated first. We nonetheless begin by discussing the district court’s decertification of the putative class. 9 We review a district court’s class certification decisions for abuse of discretion.6 See Shipes v. Trinity Indus., 987 F.2d 311, 316 (5th Cir. 1993); Merrill v. Southern Methodist Univ., 806 F.2d 600, 607 (5th Cir. 1986). “[T]he district court maintains great discretion in certifying and managing a class action. We will reverse a district court's decision to certify a class only upon a showing that the court abused its discretion, or that it applied incorrect legal standards in reaching its decision.” Mullen v. Treasure Chest Casino, LLC, 186 F.3d 620, 624 (5th Cir. 1999). The decision to decertify a provisionally certified class is a class certification decision and, as such, is reviewed for abuse of discretion. See Mooney v. Aramco Services Co., 54 F.3d 1207, 1212 (5th Cir. 1995); Briggs v. Anderson, 796 F.2d 1009, 1017 (8th Cir. 1986). In the district court, Appellants sought to cert ify the class of “all LSU women students enrolled at any time since February, 1993 or who seek to enroll or become enrolled during the course of this litigation and who seek or have sought to participate and or were deterred from participating in varsity intercollegiate athletics funded by LSU.”7 Memorandum Ruling of Jan. 12, 1996, at 1. On 6 We review the district court’s decertification of the class despite Appellees’ contentions that this action is moot as to Appellants. Even if that contention holds true, Appellants are the proper parties to contest the district court’s certification decisions regarding the putative class. See United States Parole Comm’n v. Geraghty, 445 U.S. 388, 404 (1980). Appellees also argue that the class claims are moot. We determine, infra, that they are not. 7 In order to maintain a class action, plaintiffs must first show that the four requirements Rule 23(a) have been met and, additionally, that one of the requirements of Rule 23(b) have been met. See FED. R. CIV. P. 23. The requirements of Rule 23(a) are (1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class, (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class, and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. Id. 23(a). The district court initially certified a class under Rule 23(b)(2), which allows a class action if “the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable 10 September 14, 1995, the district court provisionally certified the class of “[t]hose who have sought or seek to participate in varsity intercollegiate athletics at LSU but who are or were not allowed such participation due to LSU’s failure to field teams in said female varsity athletics.” Id. at 4. At that time, the district court voiced its concern that the numerosity requirement of Rule 23(a) had not been met. The court stated: provisional certification will require plaintiffs, before judgment is rendered, to further support their assertion that the joinder of potential class members is impracticable. . . . In particular this Court is concerned that plaintiffs cannot show that one major argument on numerosity is causally weak, i.e. whether women who participate in intermurals [sic] at LSU would have the ability or interests to compete at the varsity level at LSU. Memorandum Ruling of Sept. 14, 1995, at 10-11. Following the close of evidence at trial, both sides briefed the issue of numerosity. Ultimately, the district court decertified the provisional class. See Memorandum Ruling of Jan. 12, 1996, at 8-9. It stated that it had “cautioned plaintiffs’ counsel in its original ruling that the evidence presented on numerosity was not sufficient to uphold a class cert ification and granted plaintiffs the opportunity to bolster that information. [It] remain[ed] unconvinced that such numerosity exists.”8 Id. at 4-5. to the class, thereby making appropriate final injunctive relief or corresponding declaratory relief with respect to the class as a whole.” Id. 23(b)(2). Appellants contend that they reserved the right to move for certification under Rule 23(b)(3), but the Appellees dispute this contention. We take no position on this debate because no appeal was filed with respect to the certification of a Rule 23(b)(3) class. 8 The district court then established “lack of necessity” as an alternative ground for decertifying the class. This court has, in the past, declined to decide whether necessity can play a role in class certification decisions. See Johnson v. City of Opelousas, 658 F.2d 1065, 1069-70 (5th Cir. 1981). We again decline to decide this question. We simply decide that, if indeed a necessity requirement exists, the substantial risk of mootness here created a necessity for class certification in this case, and the district court abused its discretion in finding no necessity for a class. 11 Appellants challenge the decertification of the putative class. It is important for our purposes to recognize that Appellants do not challenge the district court’s redefinition of the putative class; they merely challenge the district court’s decision to decertify the redefined class.9 The precise question before us, therefore, is whether the district court abused its discretion when it decertified, on the grounds of lack of numerosity and lack of necessity, the class of “[t]hose female students enrolled at LSU since 1993 and any time thereafter who have sought or seek to participate in varsity intercollegiate athletics at LSU but who are or were not allowed such participation due to LSU’s failure to field teams in said female varsity athletics.” Memorandum Ruling of Jan. 12, 1996, at 4. Appellants’ major contention appears to be that the evidence presented at trial clearly satisfied the numerosity requirement and that the district court’s decertification order, therefore, erroneously assessed that evidence. Appellants also attack the district court’s failure to make specific findings of fact in its memorandum ruling decertifying the putative class. See Appellants’ Brief at 34-35 (“Although the District Court (contrary to Rules 23 and 52) made no factual findings supporting its holding as to numerosity, the trial evidence clearly established the numerosity element.”). The district court made clear that its decertification decision, in all aspects relevant to this discussion, rested on Appellants’ inability to satisfy the numerosity requirement. Moreover, in its September 14, 1995, Memorandum Ruling, the district court explained that Appellants had failed to provide evidence that members of the intramural and club teams had the desire or ability to compete at the varsity level. Appellants are correct, however, that the district court failed to identify specific findings of fact to support its conclusion that the numerosity requirement had not been met. Both 9 Appellants assert in their brief before this court a desire to represent the class they originally proposed to the district court, but they fail to challenge the district court’s redefinition of the putative class. 12 parties briefed the numerosity issue following the close of evidence at trial. These briefs detailed the evidence in favor of and against a conclusion that the numerosity prong of Rule 23(a) had been satisfied. This same evidence is reiterated in the briefs prepared on appeal. At trial, Appellants established that a number of current LSU female students had a desire to try out for varsity soccer or fast-pitch softball.10 Appellees admit that eight people showed up for varsity soccer tryouts. These eight, however, do not constitute the sum total of class members. The class consists of all “female students enrolled at LSU since 1993 and any time thereafter” who wish to participate. Plaintiffs established that, around the time of trial, well over 5,000 young women were playing soccer or fast-pitch softball at the high school level in Louisiana. They also established that many former members of a Baton Rouge soccer club received scholarships to play intercollegiate soccer. As Appellees point out, these women, because they are not students at LSU, are not members of the putative class. However, considering the talent pool in Louisiana established by these figures and the number of LSU students who come from Louisiana, Appellants have established that numerous future female LSU students will desire to try out for varsity soccer and fast-pitch softball. To satisfy the numerosity prong, “a plaintiff must ordinarily demonstrate some evidence or reasonable estimate of the number of purported class members.” Zeidman v. J. Ray McDermott & Co., Inc., 651 F.2d 1030, 1038 (5th Cir. 1981). The evidence presented brings Appellants’ assertions as to numerosity beyond the “mere allegation that the class is too numerous to make joinder practicable” 10 Because we determine, infra, that to establish standing, an individual need only demonstrate that she is able and ready to compete for a position on the unfielded team, we do not focus, as the district court seems to have, on whether potential class members have the skill necessary to obtain a position on a varsity team. 13 which, by itself, is insufficient. Fleming v. Travenol Laboratories, Inc., 707 F.2d 829, 833 (5th Cir. 1983).11 Our independent review of the record satisfies us that the numerosity prong has been satisfied. Because the district court failed to identify specific findings that led it to conclude that the numerosity prong had not been satisfied, we can only conclude that its assessment of the evidence was clearly erroneous and, therefore, that it abused its discretion in declining finally to certify the putative class on the ground of lack of numerosity. Accordingly, we vacate the district court’s decertification order. It has been over four years since the district court provisionally certified the class at issue. While we have determined that the district court abused its discretion in decertifying the class on the grounds of numerosity and, possibly, lack of need, this court is not as well situated as the district court to determine whether the putative class should now finally be certified given all other considerations that go into a class certification decision. Upon remand, therefore, the district court should reconsider final class certification in light of this opinion and all other class certification considerations, including the adequacy as a representative of any person who hereafter comes forward to represent the class. 11 We have previously stated that when conducting a numerosity analysis, district courts must not focus on sheer numbers alone but must instead focus “on whether joinder of all members is practicable in view of the numerosity of the class and all other relevant factors.” Phillips v. Joint Legislative Comm., 637 F.2d 1014, 1022 (5th Cir. 1981). We have found the inclusion of future members in the class definition a factor to consider in determining if joinder is impracticable. In Jack v. American Linen Supply Co., we noted that “[t]he alleged class . . . include[d] unnamed, unknown future . . . [members] who will be affected by . . . discriminatory policies, and joinder of unknown individuals is certainly impracticable.” 498 F.2d 122, 124 (5th Cir. 1974). In the case at hand, the fact that the class includes unknown, unnamed future members also weighs in favor of certification. 14
The district court ruled that the Pederson Plaintiffs lacked standing to bring suit for violations of Title IX and that all Appellants lacked standing to challenge LSU’s existing varsity program. We review each ruling in turn.
“Jurisdictional questions are questions of law, and thus reviewable de novo by this Court. . . . If the district court resolves any factual disputes in making its jurisdictional findings, the facts expressly or impliedly found by the district court are accepted on appeal unless the findings are clearly erroneous.” In the Matter of the Complaint of Tom-Mac, Inc., 76 F.3d 678, 682 (5th Cir. 1996) (internal citations omitted). “A question of standing raises the issue of whether the plaintiff is entitled to have the court decide the merits of the dispute or of particular issues. Standing is a jurisdictional requirement that focuses on the party seeking to get his complaint before a federal court and not on the issues he wishes to have adjudicated.” Cook v. Reno, 74 F.3d 97, 98-99 (5th Cir. 1996) (internal quotations and footnotes omitted). To have standing, a plaintiff must establish three elements: First , the plaintiff must show that it has suffered an injury in fact--a harm suffered by the plaintiff that is concrete and actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical. Second, the plaintiff must establish causation–a fairly traceable connection between the plaintiff’s injury and the complained-o f conduct of the defendant. Lastly, there must be redressability--a likelihood that the requested relief will redress the alleged injury. Sierra Club v. Peterson, 185 F.3d 349, 360 (5th Cir. 1999). Additionally, courts have refused to adjudicate cases that raise only generalized grievances. “A generalized grievance is a harm shared in substantially equal measure by all or a large class of citizens. The prudential principle barring adjudication of generalized grievances is closely related to the constitutional requirement of personal 15 injury in fact, and the policies underlying both are similar. Walker v. Mesquite, 169 F.3d 973, 979 n.16 (5th Cir. 1999) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). Finally, the doctrine of standing is distinguishable from that of mootness. The Supreme Court has acknowledged “mootness as ‘the doctrine of standing set in a time frame: The requisite personal interest that must exist at the commencement of the litigation (standing) must continue throughout its existence (mootness).’” United States Parole Comm’n v. Geraghty, 445 U.S. 388, 397 (1980) (quoting Monaghan, Constitutional Adjudication: The Who and When, 82 YALE L.J. 1363, 1384 (1973)).
The district court determined that the Pederson Plaintiffs-- Pederson, Ollar, and Clark--lacked standing to bring claims for equitable or declaratory relief. With regard to Ollar and Clark, the court found that they “were ineligible to compete in intercollegiate athletics after May, 1995 under the regulations of the National Collegiate Athletic Association [(“NCAA”)].” Pederson, 912 F. Supp. at 907. The court found that Pederson retained NCAA eligibility and had made the team, but she quit the team for financial reasons and was, at the same time, cut from the team due to a lack of skill. Id. at 907 & n.34. The court further found that LSU had no men’s varsity soccer team and that it provided men and women the same opportunity to participate in club soccer. Finally, the court found that the Pederson Plaintiffs did not establish the ability to play soccer above the club level and that they did not establish the interest or ability to play any sport other than soccer. The court therefore concluded that “LSU’s alleged violation of Title IX by not providing additional athletic opportunity to its female students in no way personally impacted these three plaintiffs.” Id. at 907. Absent any 16 personal impact, the court determined that the Pederson Plaintiffs lacked standing and dismissed their claims. The district court failed appropriately to evaluate the Pederson Plaintiffs’ standing. First, the district court addresses each plaintiff’s NCAA eligibility at the time of trial. Eligibility at the time of trial, however, implicates mootness; it has no bearing on the particular litigant’s standing at the time the suit was filed.12 Seco nd, the district court’s conclusion that LSU provided men and women the same opportunities to play soccer and that, therefore, LSU’s Title IX violation did not impact the Pederson Plaintiffs reaches the merits of the Pederson Plaintiffs’ effective accommodation claim. The Pederson Plaintiffs claim that LSU, by failing to field a women’s varsity soccer team, ineffectively accommodated the interests and abilities of female students at the school. Whether or not the Pederson Plaintiffs produced evidence at trial sufficient to establish this alleged violation is the very heart of the matter in their case and does not implicate standing. Standing requires alleged misconduct, not proven misconduct. To the extent that the district court reached the merits of the Pederson Plaintiffs’ claims in its opinion, we remark only that “[i]t is inappropriate for the court to focus on the merits of the case when considering the issue of standing.” Hanson v. Veterans Admin., 800 F.2d 1381, 1385 (5th Cir. 1986). Third, the district court misconceived the level of injury necessary to establish standing in this area. The district court’s focus on the ability of each Pederson Plaintiff to secure a position on the varsity soccer team was misplaced. This inquiry will be appropriate in the determination of damages during Stage II. If the Pederson Plaintiffs have standing and succeed on their violation claims, then 12 We discuss mootness in Part II.C., infra. 17 each plaintiff’s ability to secure a position on the unfielded varsity soccer team during the period of the violation is a factor to consider in assessing damages. Of course, each plaintiff’s ability to secure a position will be impacted both by skill and NCAA eligibility. The findings of the district court, therefore, do not help to determine whether the Pederson Plaintiffs have standing to challenge LSU’s effective accommodation under Title IX, i.e., whether they met the minimum standing requirements at the time they instituted this suit. We are unaware of, nor does either party point to, precedent delineating the precise level of injury a litigant must demonstrate to establish standing to assert a claim under Title IX for ineffective accommodation. Clearly, the alleged misconduct here is LSU’s failure to field a varsity soccer team in violation of Title IX. The remedies sought are both monetary and injunctive. As a general matter, injury in fact is the “invasion of a legally protected interest.” Northeastern Fla. Chapter of the Associated Gen. Contractors of Am. v. City of Jacksonville, 508 U.S. 656, 663 (1993). The difficult question, then, is whether there is, in this case, any legally protected interest actually violated or in imminent danger of being violated that is fairly traceable to the alleged misconduct and from which the Pederson Plaint iffs will likely obtain relief as a result of a favorable ruling. The district court seems to require that the Pederson Plaintiffs allege the injury of being denied the opportunity to compete on a specific varsity team. It follows from this reasoning that a determination that a plaintiff would not have made the specific varsity team, even had it existed, defeats her standing because she fails to demonstrate sufficient injury. The district court requires too much. Our decision here is informed on two fronts. First, we find the case of Boucher v. Syracuse Univ., 164 F.3d 113 (2d Cir. 1999) suppo rtive. There, members of the club lacrosse and softball teams brought suit for violation of Title IX. Neither the district court nor the Court of Appeals for 18 the Second Circuit discussed whether any of the students possessed the skills necessary to make one of the unfielded varsity teams. Nonetheless, the Second Circuit, after dismissing their equal treatment claims for lack of standing, never even questioned their standing to bring effective accommodation claims. See id. at 120. Second, we find the Supreme Court’s Equal Protection jurisprudence instructive. In the context of set-aside programs, the Court has stated: When the government erects a barrier that makes it more difficult for members of one group to obtain a benefit than it is for members of another group, a member of the former group seeking to challenge the barrier need not allege that he would have obtained the benefit but for the barrier in order to establish standing. The injury in fact in an equal protection case of this variety is the denial of equal treatment resulting from the imposition of the barrier, not the ultimate inability to obtain the benefit. And in the context of a challenge to a set-aside program, the injury in fact is the inability to compete on an equal footing in the bidding process, not the loss of a contract. To establish standing, therefore, a party challenging a set-aside program . . . need only demonstrate that it is able and ready to bid on contracts and that a discriminatory policy prevents it from doing so on an equal basis. Northeastern Florida, 508 U.S. at 666 (citations omitted). Violating Title IX by failing to field women’s varsity teams that effectively accommodate the interests and abilities of the university community cert ainly creates a barrier for female students. In much the same way as set-aside programs, the injury here results from the imposed barrier–the absence of a varsity team for a position on which a female student should be allowed to try out. We hold, therefore, that to establish standing under a Title IX effective accommodation claim, a party need only demonstrate that she is “able and ready” to compete for a position on the unfielded team. The Pederson Plaintiffs have certainly established standing in this case. They all participated in club soccer, and, indeed, Pederson actually competed for a spot on the team once it was fielded. Whether or not they have proved sufficiently their claims on the merits, however, is for the district 19 court to decide. The district court’s conclusion that Appellees violated Title IX by failing to field a women’s varsity fast-pitch softball team does not compel a conclusion that they likewise violated Title IX by failing to field a women’s varsity soccer team. Upon remand, the district court should determine, prior to proceeding to Stage II, the merits of the Pederson Plaintiffs’ claim.
Appellants also challenge the district court’s determination that they did not have standing to challenge LSU’s entire varsity athletic program as it then existed, including the allocation of scholarships and other benefits to varsity athletes. They argue that the district court should not have dismissed their claims for declaratory and injunctive relief with respect to women’s varsity basketball, volleyball, track, tennis, golf, gymnastics, and swimming because they have individually sustained the requisite injury necessary to address the operation of LSU’s athletic program as a whole, and because limiting the inquiry to specific teams contradicts the policies of Title IX as well as traditional notions of fairness. The district court found that Appellants had standing to challenge the lack of effective accommodation but not the denial of equivalence in other athletic benefits. Appellees defend the district court’s conclusion on the ground that persons who never participated in intercollegiate athletics have no standing to challenge the treatment of existing athletes. We agree with the district court that Appellants lack standing to challenge the alleged unequal treatment of varsity athletes at LSU. At the time of trial, no named plaintiff was a member of a varsity team.13 Moreover, the class that Appellants seek to represent includes women injured by 13 We do not mean to imply that an equal treatment claim can only be brought by an existing varsity athlete. Whether, for example, a female student who was deterred from competing for a spot on an existing varsity team because of perceived unequal treatment of female varsity athletes 20 LSU’s failure to field teams for certain sports. Standing to challenge effective accommodation does not automatically translate into standing to challenge the treatment of existing varsity athletes. See Boucher, 164 F.3d at 116 (“The [district] court held that since none of the named plaintiffs were varsity athletes, they did not have standing to assert the equal treatment claims. Its ruling on this issue was proper and we affirm the dismissal of plaintiffs’ equal treatment claims . . . .”). Because we agree substantially with the reasoning set forth by the district court in its September 14, 1995, Memorandum Ruling, for further explanation we rely on the district court’s discussion.14 would have standing to challenge the existing varsity program is a question we leave for another day. 14 The district court stated: If she [plaintiffs] cannot show personal injury, then no Article III case or controversy exists, and a Federal Court is powerless to hear that grievance. The individual injury requirement is not met by alleging “that injury has been suffered by other, unidentified members of the class to which [the plaintiff] belong[s] and which she purports to represent.” Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 502, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 2207, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975). Accordingly, a named plaintiff in a class action who cannot establish the requisite case or controversy between him or herself and the defendants simply cannot seek relief for anyone...not for herself, and not for any other member of the class. O’Shea v. Littleton, 414 U.S. 488, 494, 94 S.Ct. 669, 675, 38 L.Ed.2d 674 (1974)...The treatment of participants in female varsity athletics has not impacted plaintiffs as they have not been female varsity athletes and therefore have not been discriminated against by any alleged treatment of LSU’s female varsity athletes; therefore a change in said treatment would not impact plaintiffs. Plaintiffs have personally suffered no injury or threatened injury due to LSU’s allegedly illegal treatment of its varsity athletes and as such fail the initial prong of the standing inquiry as to the claims for illegal treatment of athletes. District Court Memorandum Ruling, September 14, 1995. We note, additionally, that we would be unable to reach the merits of this claim even were Appellants to have standing. We determined, supra, that the putative class is not properly certified, and we determine, infra, that the claims for injunctive relief have been rendered moot as to the named plaintiffs by reason of their graduation; because there is no proper party before us to raise this issue, we would be unable to reach the merits of it. See Geraghty, 445 U.S. at 400 n.7, 404. 21
Appellees insist, at several points throughout their brief, that issues presented are moot as to the named plaintiffs and the class. Appellants seem to agree with this assertion, as least in relation to the injunctive claims asserted by the named plaintiffs. In their brief, Appellants state, “[The Pineda Plaintiffs’] graduation would render the issue [of injunctive relief] moot and thereby alleviate the requirement that LSU maintain a women’s softball team . . . .” Appellants’ Brief at 45. As to the class, Appellees assert that the district judge’s order was “essentially class relief.” Appellees’ Brief at 76. They fault Appellants for failing to “argue in their brief that the compliance plan ordered by the District Court is deficient or that the plan does not bring LSU into compliance with respect to Title IX’s effective accommodation requirements for participatory opportunities.” Id. at 77. The gist of Appellees’ argument is that the district court, in effect, ordered class relief; Appellants do not contest that relief; therefore, any class claims for injunctive relief are moot. Appellees rely on Locke v. Board of Public Instruction, 499 F.2d 359 (5th Cir. 1974), for the proposition that the district court’s acceptance of their Compliance Plan moots the class claims. In that case, a teacher sued her school district for race and sex discrimination surrounding her maternity leave. Before oral argument on appeal, the maternity policy was changed and Locke was transferred, at her own request, into a teaching position that she found satisfactory. We noted there that “in her original complaint the only relief sought by Mrs. Locke other than money damages was an injunction restraining the school system from implementing its present leave policy against the plaintiff in a discriminatory manner.” Id. at 363 (emphasis added). We went on to explain: 22 It is clear from the facts before us . . . that the plaintiff herein has now been satisfied as to her request for a job complete with supplemental work and pay. The counsel for the school board . . . has assured this court that the school board always had, and still maintains, good will toward Mrs. Locke. Furthermore, it is clear that the school board has done everything within its power to comply with Mrs. Locke’s wishes within the limitations placed upon the board by the various federal orders and mandates. This court is aware . . . that voluntary cessation of allegedly illegal conduct does not deprive the tribunal of power to hear and determine the cases, i.e., does not make the case moot. But, the mootness in this case . . . depends not at all upon a voluntary cessation of activity, but rather depends on the simple fact that Mrs. Locke’s wishes have been complied with and it is a matter of record that the school board is complying with the various federal mandates and orders as to integration of its school system. Even though . . . it could be argued that this is a question that is capable of repetition, here, . . . that is not possible. The maternity leave policy allegedly forced on Mrs. Locke is no longer in existence, a new one having taken its place on December 12, 1972. Mrs. Locke will never again be forced to comply with that leave policy. Id. at 364 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). Finally, we concluded that “although this matter has generated public concern, the nature of the case itself we find is that of a single individual alleging infringement of her rights. This does not make the dispute one of ‘general public interest’ requiring a decision even if many attributes of mootness exist.” Id. at 366. Appellants here have consistently maintained that the alleged Title IX violation impacts not only themselves, but many women at LSU. Furthermore, the fact that the district court ordered a Compliance Plan demonstrates that the issues here go far beyond the impact of the alleged violations on the named plaintiffs. Finally, Appellees have failed to show the same dedication to accommodating the desires of Appellants that the school district in Locke demonstrated. Locke was rightly decided, but, without intending to put too fine a point on it, it is on all counts not the case before us today. This appeal raises three merit-based questions. Appellees argue that the district court erred in its conclusion that LSU violated Title IX. Appellants argue that the district court erred in finding that Appellees did not discriminate intentionally. Finally, Appellees argue that the district court’s 23 Compliance Plan requirements were overly broad. The Title IX violation question is necessarily antecedent to the issue of intentional discrimination, and the intentional discrimination issue, as discussed infra, implicates Appellants’ damages claim. The Compliance Plan question deals with the injunctive relief prayed for by Appellants. “Justiciability must be analyzed separately on the issues of money damages and the propriety of equitable relief.” Henschen v. City of Houston, 959 F.2d 584, 587 (5th Cir. 1992). We, therefore, analyze separately the mootness of the injunctive claims and the damages claims. Furthermore, we examine mootness as to the named plaintiffs and the putative class. “The starting point for analysis is the familiar proposition that ‘federal courts are without power to decide questions that cannot affect the rights of litigants in the case before them.’” DeFunis v. Odegaard, 416 U.S. 312, 316 (1974) (quoting North Carolina v. Rice, 404 U.S. 244, 246 (1971)).
In the present case, Appellants have all graduated from LSU. Even assuming that any one of them retains any NCAA eligibility at this point, they have not argued that there is any likelihood that any of them will return to LSU and attempt to play varsity sports. As is so often the case in suits for injunctive relief brought by students, graduation or impending graduation renders their claims for injunctive relief moot. See Id. at 319-20; Sapp v. Renfroe, 511 F.2d 172, 175 (5th Cir. 1975). Because the named plaintiffs will not benefit from a favorable ruling on the question implicating injunctive relief, we hold that this question is moot as to them. The issue of injunctive relief, however, is not moot as to the putative class. Appellees argue that the district court’s effective class relief and their compliance with Title IX, based upon a plan entered into before this litigation began, renders the issue of injunctive relief moot as to the putative class as well. Contrary to Appellees’ assertions, it is well established that the 24 voluntary cessation of allegedly illegal conduct does not deprive the tribunal of power to hear and determine the case, i.e., does not make the case moot. But jurisdiction, properly acquired, may abate if he case becomes moot because (1) it can be said with assurance that there is no reasonable expect ation . . . that the alleged violation will recur, and (2) interim relief or events have completely and irrevocably eradicated the effects of the alleged violation. When both conditions are satisfied it may be said that the case is moot because neither party has a legally cognizable interest in the final determination of the underlying questions of fact and law. The burden of demonstrating mootness is a heavy one. County of Los Angeles v. Davis, 440 U.S. 625, 631 (1979) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). In this case, Appellees bear the burden of demonstrating that “‘there is no reasonable expectation that the wrong will be repeated.’” ACLU v. Finch, 638 F.2d 1336, 1346 (5th Cir. 1981) (quoting United States v. W.T. Grant, 345 U.S. 629, 633 (1953)). Appellees have failed to meet this burden. They have made no representation to this court that they are dedicated to ensuring equal opportunities and fair accommodation for both their female and male athletes in the long run. They simply state that they have instituted varsity women’s fast-pitch softball and soccer and that they have, as required, submitted a Compliance Plan to the district court. Appellees have given no assurance that they will not disband these programs, as they have with varsity fast-pitch softball in the past. In its May 9, 1997, order, the district court, although speaking highly of LSU’s turnaround in the area of effective accommodation, nonetheless required periodic reporting for several years. We will not secondguess the district court’s reasoned judgment by declaring this issue moot when Appellees have failed to demonstrate that their Title IX effective accommodation violations will not recur. We do not think, however, that the voluntary cessation exception applies equally to the individual Appellants. Even were LSU to resume its illegal activity, Appellants, because of their 25 graduation, would be unaffected. The question of injunctive relief is therefore, as stated supra, rendered moot as to the named plaintiffs.
Finally, Appellants’ damages claim is not moot. The district court held that, with regard to the Pineda Plaintiffs, and we have remanded for a determination whether, with regard to the Pederson Plaintiffs, LSU violated the individual rights of each named plaintiff by failing to accommodate effectively the interests and abilities of female students. Appellees contest the district court’s holding. Appellants assert that LSU intentionally discriminated against women. If these questions on appeal are answered in Appellants’ favor, then to the extent that LSU’s violations caused a named plaintiff’s actual damages, that person is entitled to be compensated for those damages. A live controversy, therefore, exists with regard to the damages claim, and the legal questions underlying that claim are not moot. See Henschen, 959 F.2d at 588.
Appellees contend that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to consider Appellants’ claims because Appellees are immune from suit pursuant to the Eleventh Amendment. Appellants, and the United States as Intervener, counter that the Eleventh Amendment does not bar Appellants’ suit because (1) Congress validly abrogated the States’ Eleventh Amendment immunity for purposes of Title IX, (2) LSU waived its Eleventh Amendment immunity when it accepted federal funding for its educational institutions, or (3) jurisdiction properly lies under the doctrine of Ex Parte 26 Young. We find that LSU waived its Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity by accepting federal funds under Title IX.15 42 U.S.C. § 2000d-7(a)(1) provides that: “[a] State shall not be immune under the Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution of the United States from suit in Federal court for a violation of...title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.” In Litman v. George Mason University, 186 F. 3d 544 (4th Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 120 S.Ct. 1220 (2000), the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concluded that, in enacting §2000d-7 Congress “permissibly conditioned [a state university’s] receipt of Title IX funds on an unambiguous waiver of [the university’s] Eleventh Amendment immunity, and that, in accepting such funding, [the university] has consented to litigate [private suits] in federal court.” Id. at 555. The test for finding such waiver “is a stringent one,” College Sav. Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Educ. Expense Bd.., 119 S.Ct. 2219, 2226 (1999) (quoting Atascadero State Hosp. v. Scanlon, 473 U.S. 234, 241, 105 S.Ct. 3142, 87 L.Ed. 2d 171(1985)), and the Fourth Circuit in Litman conducted a careful analysis under the relevant inquiry. We cannot improve on the work done by the court in Litman, and we therefore simply adopt its holding for all the reasons supplied in its well-crafted opinion. LSU makes several arguments, similar to the arguments put forth by the defendants in Litman, as to why it did not waive their Eleventh Amendment immunity by accepting Title IX funding. LSU argues: (1) that 42 U.S.C. § 2000d-7(a)(1) does not contain the word “waiver”, and that the state may have logically disregarded the language of this statute as an attempt to abrogate its sovereign immunity; and (2) that the Supreme Court’s decision in Seminole Tribe v. Florida, 517 U.S. 44, 116 15 Because we determine that LSU waived its Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity, we will not address the two alternative arguments regarding abrogation of sovereign immunity, and the doctrine of Ex Parte Young. 27 S.Ct . 1114, 134 L.Ed. 2d 252 (1996), rejected the idea of a state “constructively waiving” its Eleventh Amendment immunity. We will address each of these arguments in turn. First, we will consider whether 42 U.S.C. § 2000d-7(a)(1), although it does not use the words “waiver” o r “condition”, unambiguously provides that a State by agreeing to receive federal educational funds under Title IX has waived sovereign immunity. A state may “waive its immunity by voluntarily participating in federal spending programs when Congress expresses ‘a clear intent to condition participation in the programs...on a State’s consent to waive its constitutional immunity.’” Litman, 186 F.3d at 550 (quoting Atascadero State Hosp., 473 U.S. at 247). Title IX as a federal spending program “operates much in the nature of a contract: in return for federal funds, the States agree t o comply with federally imposed conditions.” Id. at 551; see also Rosa H v. San Elizaro Independent School District, 106 F.3d 648, 654 (5th Cir.1997) (stating that Title IX is Spending Clause legislation, and as a statute enacted under the Spending Clause, Title IX generates liability when the recipient of federal funds agrees to assume liability) The Supreme Court has noted that Congress in enacting Title IX “condition[ed] an offer of federal funding on a promise by the recipient not to discriminate, in what amounts essentially to a contract between the Government and the recipient of funds.” Gebser v. Lago Vista Indep. School Dist., 524 U.S. 274, 286, 118 S.Ct. 1989, 1997, 141 L.Ed. 2d 277 (1998); Litman, 186 F.3d at 551-552. Thus, based on the above reasoning we find that in 42 U.S.C. § 2000d-7(a)(a) Congress has successfully codified a statute which clearly, unambiguously, and unequivocally conditions receipt of federal funds under Title IX on the State’s waiver of Eleventh Amendment Immunity. See Litman, 186 F.3d at 554. LSU argues that even if 42 U.S.C. § 2000d-7(a)(1) is intended to cause waiver of sovereign immunity, this type of “conditional waiver” argument is at odds with the Supreme Court’s decision 28 in Seminole Tribe. We do not find this argument persuasive. As the Fourth Circuit reasoned in Litman: We do not read Seminole Tribe and its progeny, including the Supreme Court’s recent Eleventh Amendment decisions, to preclude Congress from conditioning federal grants on a state’s consent to be sued in federal court to enforce the substantive conditions of the federal spending program. Indeed, to do so would affront the Court’s acknowledgment in Seminole Tribe of the ‘unremarkable...proposition that States may waive their sovereign immunity.’ Id. at 556 (quoting Seminole Tribe, 517 U.S. at 65). We conclude that in accepting federal funds under Title IX LSU waived its Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity.