Buckle up, the allegations in this lawsuit against the University of Southern California are wild.
USC Gould School of Law Professor Camille Rich filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the university ignored her Title IX complaints about her ex-husband’s alleged affair with a student — and then retaliated against her when she dared to speak up.
According to the lawsuit, Camille Rich and her ex-husband, Stephen M. Rich, also a professor at USC Law, and now a vice dean of the law school, divorced in 2019. During the divorce process, Camille filed a Title IX complaint alleging Stephen was carrying on an affair with a student.
In the lawsuit, Camille says years of dealing with a hostile work environment and the implosion of her marriage left her with PTSD, trauma she says worsened when she learned Stephen’s relationship with the student was ongoing. Stephen later married the former student, Deanna Rafla-Yuan, and the couple had twins in March 2020.
This wasn’t just messy. This was nuclear.
Camille also alleges that during their separation, Stephen attempted to defame her to colleagues, “painting himself the tormented victim” in an effort to pressure her into returning to the marriage. A bold strategy, which did not, in fact, pay off.
Camille claims the university conducted a “perfunctory and sham inquiry” into her Title IX complaints, dismissing them as unfounded without even interviewing Stephen. She says that instead of protecting her, USC officials retaliated by denying disability accommodations she needed for PTSD, refusing to restore lost pay for trauma-related absences, and handing her poor performance evaluations. She also alleges that then–dean and current provost Andrew Guzman denied her request to cap class sizes, and that Guzman’s personal friendship with Stephen made impartial review impossible.
USC, for its part, says oh absolutely not.
In a statement, the university insisted: “The lawsuit has no legal merit. We look forward to defending the university’s position in court.”
Stephen’s now-wife, Rafla-Yuan, also issued a statement pushing back hard on the narrative, saying the complaint contains “numerous untrue statements” about her and her relationship with Stephen. She insists their romantic relationship began after she left USC Law.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post Top Law School Accused Of ‘Sham’ Title IX Investigation In Wake Of Professors’ Divorce appeared first on Above the Law.
Buckle up, the allegations in this lawsuit against the University of Southern California are wild.
USC Gould School of Law Professor Camille Rich filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the university ignored her Title IX complaints about her ex-husband’s alleged affair with a student — and then retaliated against her when she dared to speak up.
According to the lawsuit, Camille Rich and her ex-husband, Stephen M. Rich, also a professor at USC Law, and now a vice dean of the law school, divorced in 2019. During the divorce process, Camille filed a Title IX complaint alleging Stephen was carrying on an affair with a student.
In the lawsuit, Camille says years of dealing with a hostile work environment and the implosion of her marriage left her with PTSD, trauma she says worsened when she learned Stephen’s relationship with the student was ongoing. Stephen later married the former student, Deanna Rafla-Yuan, and the couple had twins in March 2020.
This wasn’t just messy. This was nuclear.
Camille also alleges that during their separation, Stephen attempted to defame her to colleagues, “painting himself the tormented victim” in an effort to pressure her into returning to the marriage. A bold strategy, which did not, in fact, pay off.
Camille claims the university conducted a “perfunctory and sham inquiry” into her Title IX complaints, dismissing them as unfounded without even interviewing Stephen. She says that instead of protecting her, USC officials retaliated by denying disability accommodations she needed for PTSD, refusing to restore lost pay for trauma-related absences, and handing her poor performance evaluations. She also alleges that then–dean and current provost Andrew Guzman denied her request to cap class sizes, and that Guzman’s personal friendship with Stephen made impartial review impossible.
USC, for its part, says oh absolutely not.
In a statement, the university insisted: “The lawsuit has no legal merit. We look forward to defending the university’s position in court.”
Stephen’s now-wife, Rafla-Yuan, also issued a statement pushing back hard on the narrative, saying the complaint contains “numerous untrue statements” about her and her relationship with Stephen. She insists their romantic relationship began after she left USC Law.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
