Cases & Developments

Opinion vacating denial of class certification and remanding. Plaintiffs, members of the women’s lacrosse team at Fresno State University, on behalf of themselves and a putative class, brought Title IX gender equity claims against the University after it discontinued its women’s lacrosse, men’s wrestling, and men’s tennis teams. The district court denied class certification, citing a conflict between the interests of the named plaintiffs and the interests of other female students participating in other sports whose interests might not be served by diverting resources to the restoration of the lacrosse team. In vacating and remanding, the Ninth Circuit held that the district court abused its discretion because plaintiffs’ effective accommodation claim did not necessarily require reinstatement of the lacrosse team. It also held that the district court abused its discretion in not independently considering plaintiffs’ equal treatment claim.