As the University of Tennessee finally puts a Title IX lawsuit behind it, the costs of the settlement and attorney fees are adding up.
The university will pay approximately $3 million combined after settling the federal lawsuit July 5 for $2.48 million. Under the terms of the settlement, UT will pay for its own lawyers and the fees of all eight plaintiffs’ lawyers, reports knoxnews.com.
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As of July 6, the state had paid legal firm Neal & Harwell, of Nashville, $539,747.76 for legal services. That figure includes payments to the public relations and lobbying firm the Ingram Group, which assisted in the school’s communications strategy during the case. At the conclusion of the settlement the state will bill UT for the legal costs.
Campus Safety had previously reported on the settlement, which came after eight people sued UT for violating Title IX after they say the school inadequately responded to allegations of sexual misconduct by several athletes. The university admitted no guilt as part of the agreement.
Under the settlement terms, half of the fees will be paid by the UT-Knoxville campus and half will be paid by the athletics department.
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