Cases & Developments

Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Plaintiffs, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and other organizations representing the University of California system employees, faculty, and students, challenged the cancellation of federal grants, asserting violations of the First Amendment, unconstitutional conditions doctrine, Tenth Amendment Spending Clause, Separation of Powers doctrine, and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The court granted plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction, holding that (1) plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their First Amendment, unconstitutional conditions, Tenth Amendment, and APA claims; (2) plaintiffs had shown that irreparable harm was likely; and (3) the balancing of the equities and the public interest favored granting the preliminary injunction. In reaching this decision, the court found that defendants’ actions in cancelling grants and then attempting to force a settlement from the university were “part of a standard playbook of suspending and terminating funding without complying with the statutory requirements” of Title VI or Title IX. The court also noted that the “undisputed record” demonstrated defendants had engaged in “coercive and retaliatory conduct in violation of the First Amendment and the Tenth Amendment.” The court’s order directed the restoration of all previously canceled grants at UCLA; enjoined the defendants from “withholding freezing, suspending, terminating, conditioning or otherwise restricting use of federal funds” to the university, to coerce it in violation of the First Amendment or Tenth Amendment; and enjoined the defendants from seeking payments of or imposing penalties or fines in connection with any civil rights investigations or violations of Title VI, VII, or IX.