On October 27, Simpson Thacher, in partnership with the ACLU of Hawaii and Legal Aid at Work, secured a significant settlement on behalf of female student-athletes at Hawaii’s largest high school, James Campbell High School, in the Title IX athletics class action lawsuit against the Hawaii Department of Education and the Oahu Interscholastic Association. In advance of a trial, a joint motion for preliminary approval of a settlement was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii in which the state agreed to hire an independent evaluator to ensure that girls at the school have equal opportunities in sports, and that the school would be subject to a seven-year compliance plan.
Filed in 2018, the lawsuit alleged gender inequities for female athletes at James Campbell High School and cited multiple violations of Title IX, including inequitable locker rooms resulting in female students having to change in closets, bathrooms in nearby restaurants and on practice fields, as well as inequitable practice facilities, coaches and publicity for girls sports. After a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on an interlocutory appeal in favor of the plaintiffs, the District Court in Hawaii in July 2022 certified a class of present and future female athletes at the school. The Firm, along with the ACLU of Hawaii and Legal Aid at Work, sought declaratory and injunctive relief against the Hawaii Department of Education and the Oahu Interscholastic Association based on the allegations of systemic discrimination and gender inequities for female student-athletes, as well as retaliation against those student-athletes who advocated for equity. The trial was scheduled to begin in October 2023.
The Simpson Thacher team that advised on the pro bono matter included Buzz Frahn, Jayma Meyer, Damian Gallagher, Nick Prendergast, Sarah Brim, Ziwei Xiao and Pierce MacConaghy.
The settlement was covered by several publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg Law, Breaking News Network, Daily Mail and New York Post (subscription required).