Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled in Snyder-Hill, et al. v. Ohio State Univ., Case Nos. 3981/3991, that the discovery rule tolls the statute of limitations for Title IX claims. The discovery rule means that the cause of action does not accrue until a reasonable person knows or through the exercise of due diligence should have known of their injury and the cause of their injury. In other words, the claim does not accrue until the injured person discovers that the defendant university caused their injury.

The Snyder-Hill decision revived the claims of approximately 100 victims of sexual assault by Richard Strauss, who was a team physician for OSU. An investigation finalized in 2018 concluded that Strauss sexually assaulted or raped approximately 1500 student-athletes, mostly males. The investigation found that OSU knew of and failed to investigate the abuse, misrepresented what it knew about Strauss’ abuse to students, and allowed Strauss to quietly retire to avoid liability. In the Complaint brought in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the Snyder-Hill Plaintiffs alleged their case was timely because they could not have discovered OSU’s actions in violation of Title IX until the 2018 report was released because of OSU’s concealment of its knowledge and actions. The District Court sided with OSU and dismissed the claims as untimely. With the Sixth Circuit’s opinion overruling the District Court, the Snyder-Hill Plaintiffs may pursue their claims and attempt to obtain relief from OSU, as hundreds of other victims of Strauss’ abuse have done.

In applying the discovery rule to Title IX cases, the Sixth Circuit joins seven other circuits that have ruled the same. Thus, in most states, the time for Title IX victims to bring a claim does not begin to run until the injured person discovers that the university discriminated against them. If you or someone you know discovers that they have been harmed by a university due to gender discrimination, you should contact an attorney to explore options for recovery.

(Title IX is a federal education law passed in 1972 that seeks to end sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding. Colleges and universities in the U.S. direct sexual harassment and sexual assault complaints into departments given the same name as this civil rights law, “Title IX.”)