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Date: 06-13-2025
Case Style:
Case Number: 22-cv-04482
Judge: David C. Norton
Court: United States District Court for the District of South Carolina (Beaufort County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: Joshua Slavin
Defendant's Attorney: Chelsea Frye, Duke Highfield, Victoria Anderson
Description: Beaufordt, South Carolina civil rights lawyer represented the Plaintiff who sued on a Title IX theory alleging
that Appellee failed to appropriately respond to her reports of sexual abuse and harassment while she was a student.
Title IX prohibits sex discrimination by recipients of federal education funding. The statute provides that “[n]o person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a).
Like other federal civil rights statutes, including 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Title IX does not contain a statute of limitations. “Thus, to determine the timely filing of a [Title IX claim], courts borrow the statute of limitations from the most analogous state-law cause of action.” Owens v. Baltimore City State’s Att’ys Off., 767 F.3d 379, 388 (4th Cir. 2014) (citing 42 U.S.C. § 1988(a)); see also Reid v. James Madison Univ., 90 F.4th 311, 318–19 (4th Cir. 2024) (explaining that the statute of limitations in Title IX cases, like § 1983 cases, is “governed by” the “most analogous state-law cause of action”)
Outcome: Motion for summary judgment granted.
The district court applied the two year statute of limitations found in the South Carolina Tort Claims Act (“SCTCA”) and determined that Appellant’s claims were not timely because they were not filed within two years of her turning 18. The court of appeals concluded that South Carolina’s statute of limitations for general personal injury claims applies -- rather than the SCTCA’s statute of limitations.
Vacated and Reversed.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
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