Opinion ID: 4527065
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: UC’s investigation

Text: Butler’s argument that UC failed to investigate her complaint is demonstrably false. Indeed, the district court found that this argument “misrepresents the record.” After Butler reported her assault and asked Oldham to investigate, Oldham discussed the nature of the Wildlands Studies Program with a UC faculty member to determine if UC’s policies would apply. That conversation led Oldham to discover that the program was affiliated with California State University, Monterey Bay, and not with UC. Oldham also emailed Leslie Arutunian, an employee with the Wildlands Studies Program, who confirmed that the program had no connection to UC. At that point, Oldham concluded that UC’s policies did not apply to Butler’s assault and stopped investigating. Thus, UC did in fact investigate Butler’s complaint, and the extent of its investigation was not “clearly unreasonable.” See Davis, 526 U.S. at 648. b. UC’s alleged failure to prevent further harassment Butler argues that UC was deliberately indifferent by failing to preclude the possibility that Doe could harass Butler again. But it is unclear what interim protective measures UC should have imposed. As the district court found, Doe “was an independent third-party with no official relationship to UC.” Accordingly, UC could not directly sanction Doe, as it could if Butler’s assailant had been a UC student or faculty member. And Butler never told Oldham that she feared meeting Doe on campus or that she wanted UC to issue a nocontact order. Indeed, when Butler asked for help obtaining academic accommodations, UC did so, demonstrating UC’s sensitivity to Butler’s requests. Finally, Butler never claims to have seen Doe again after her assault. Given the 32 KARASEK V. REGENTS OF THE UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA information UC knew at the time, UC’s failure to immediately implement protective measures does not constitute deliberate indifference. c. UC’s alleged policy violations Butler contends that UC violated the DCL and UC’s own policies by failing to (1) “respond to Butler’s complaint,” (2) “act when [Butler] wanted to remain anonymous,” or (3) “implement any interim measures to remediate her hostile environment on campus.” We have already concluded that UC did respond to Butler’s complaint and that the lack of protective measures was not clearly unreasonable. Regardless, as we explained above, UC’s failure to follow the DCL’s guidance or abide by the school’s own policies does not establish deliberate indifference. See supra Section III.A.1.b. Accordingly, we affirm the grant of summary judgment to UC on Butler’s individual claim.