Attorneys are investigating whether colleges and universities in New York, Florida, California and Louisiana failed to prevent, or properly respond to, sexual assaults of their students. People who were assaulted while students at schools in those states may be eligible to submit their information for a free, confidential case review; there is no class action or settlement and nothing to claim.
Allegations Only · No Class Action or Settlement
This page describes an attorney case review and lawsuits that contain unproven allegations. No school named here has been found liable for the conduct described, there is no certified class, and there is nothing to claim. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is This About?
Attorneys working with a legal advertising service called Injury Claims are reviewing claims from people who were sexually assaulted while they were college or university students. The focus is on the school: whether it knew about a risk and failed to act, or whether it mishandled the assault once it was reported. That is a separate question from any criminal case against the person who committed the assault.The review is limited to schools in four states, and each state has its own time period, set out below. It covers undergraduate, graduate and professional students. According to the case review, survivors do not need a police report or every date and detail to have their situation looked at, and the intake form does not ask for a description of the assault.
This is not a class action. Claims like these are generally brought one survivor at a time against the school and, in some cases, a fraternity, sorority or other organization. There is no settlement fund and nothing to claim.
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These claims are time-sensitive. Legal deadlines (statutes of limitations) vary by state and can permanently bar a claim once they pass — so don't wait for a callback. You are free to choose any attorney you wish, and if you are considering a claim you should speak with a qualified attorney of your choosing as soon as possible. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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Which States and Time Periods Are Being Reviewed?
The case review is accepting survivors whose school was in one of the four states below. The date that matters is when the assault happened, and the state is where the school is located, not where the survivor lives today.Louisiana
Any year
Assaults from any year are being reviewed. Intake for Louisiana cases is open through May 2027.
California
After December 1, 2019
Assaults that happened after December 1, 2019 at a California school.
New York
After May 24, 2022
Assaults that happened after May 24, 2022 at a New York school.
Florida
After December 1, 2022
Assaults that happened after December 1, 2022 at a Florida school.
These are the windows the participating attorneys have chosen to accept for now. They are not legal deadlines. Every state sets its own statute of limitations for civil sexual assault claims, some states have opened temporary windows that revive older claims, and the rules can differ for claims against a school and claims against an individual. Whether a specific claim can still be filed depends on the state's law and the facts, and only an attorney can answer that. Survivors whose school is in another state are outside this review.
What Situations Are Being Reviewed?
The case review is looking at assaults that took place on campus or somewhere tied to the school, by someone connected to the school. The kinds of situations it lists include:- Campus housing: residence halls, school-owned apartments and housing for athletes or scholarship students.
- Fraternity and sorority settings: chapter houses, parties, rush or pledge events and formals, including off-campus houses tied to Greek organizations.
- School employees: professors, coaches, teaching assistants, team doctors, trainers and other staff in a position of trust.
- Athletic programs: assaults by athletes or at team functions, or cases where an athletic department is alleged to have shielded a player.
- Incapacitation: a survivor who was drugged or too intoxicated to consent, including at school-connected parties.
- Reports that went nowhere: an assault that was reported and then not investigated, investigated slowly, or handled in a way that left the survivor facing consequences.
What These Claims Focus On
Colleges that receive federal funding are covered by Title IX, the federal law that bars sex discrimination in education, which courts have held includes sexual harassment and sexual assault. State negligence and civil rights laws can also apply. A civil claim against a school generally asks whether the school failed in those duties and whether that failure harmed the student. The issues these cases commonly turn on include:- Prior warnings: earlier complaints about the same person, house or team that the school knew about.
- The response to a report: a Title IX process that was slow, incomplete or biased, or no investigation at all.
- Protection afterward: whether the school offered housing changes, no-contact orders or class accommodations while the other person remained nearby.
- Retaliation: a student discouraged from reporting, disciplined, or who lost a scholarship or position after coming forward.
- Known risks: fraternity houses, parties or programs the school let keep operating despite known problems.
Whether any of these applies to a particular school is a question of fact in each case. Courts decide them individually, and a school's liability is never established by a case review.
Why Schools Are Under Scrutiny Now
The Cornell University Lawsuit
In September 2026, a former Cornell University student filed a civil lawsuit in New York state court against Cornell, fraternity and sorority organizations and several individual students. She alleges she was sexually assaulted at a fraternity house in 2024 and that the university's response was inadequate. The complaint's claims against Cornell include negligence and violations of state human rights and education laws. Cornell called the allegations "deeply disturbing," and the defendants are contesting the case. No court has ruled on the merits.In October 2026, a special committee of Cornell's Board of Trustees hired former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and the law firm King & Spalding to conduct an independent review of how the university prevents and responds to sexual misconduct, including its handling of the 2024 incident.
The LSU Review and Settlement
In 2021, an outside review that Louisiana State University commissioned from the law firm Husch Blackwell found that the athletic department had kept some reports of sexual misconduct in-house rather than passing them to the Title IX office, and that LSU had never adequately staffed that office. In 2024, LSU agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle a lawsuit by 10 former students who alleged the university mishandled their reports. LSU did not admit wrongdoing, and the agreement states that it is not an admission of liability.California's 2026 State Audit
In June 2026, the California State Auditor reported on how the University of California and California State University handle sexual harassment. The auditor reviewed 97 Title IX case files at four campuses. Title IX offices closed 40 of them after intake and initial assessment without taking formal action, and the auditor questioned the outcome in two of those closed cases. The report also found that both systems had generally improved their responses since earlier reviews.Most Campus Assaults Go Unreported to Police
A U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics study of women ages 18 to 24 found that 80% of rapes and sexual assaults of college students from 1995 to 2013 were not reported to police, compared with 67% for women of the same age who were not in college. In about 80% of cases, the victim knew the offender.How the Case Review Works
The case review describes four steps:- A short questionnaire. Five questions about the school's state, student status and the general circumstances. It does not ask for graphic details, and survivors can skip difficult questions.
- Contact from intake staff. A member of the intake team follows up by phone, text or email. Survivors can ask to be contacted at a different time.
- Attorney review. A licensed attorney in the survivor's state looks at whether there may be a claim. The review is free.
- The survivor decides. Any decision to go further is the survivor's. The case review notes that many cases resolve without the survivor testifying in court.
Under the case review's own disclosures, information submitted through its form may not be protected by attorney-client privilege, and some cases may be referred to co-counsel or handled jointly with the survivor's consent. Its privacy policy describes how submissions are used.
Support Resources
Support is available whether or not a survivor ever pursues a claim. RAINN runs the National Sexual Assault Hotline, which is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day, with phone and online chat options listed on its website. Every college that receives federal funding is required to have a Title IX coordinator, and most campuses also have confidential counseling and advocacy offices. Anyone in immediate danger can contact emergency services.Questions
Which states and time periods does the college sexual assault case review cover?
The case review is currently accepting survivors whose school is in one of four states: Louisiana (an assault in any year, with intake open through May 2027), California (assaults after December 1, 2019), New York (assaults after May 24, 2022) and Florida (assaults after December 1, 2022). These are intake windows set by the participating attorneys, not legal deadlines. Whether a particular claim is timely depends on the state's law and the facts, which only an attorney can assess.
Is there a class action or settlement for college sexual assault survivors?
There is no class action, no certified class and no settlement fund connected to this case review. Claims of this kind are usually brought as individual civil lawsuits against a school and, sometimes, other parties. There is nothing to claim through OpenClassActions.com.
Does a campus sexual assault claim require a police report or a criminal case?
The case review says it does not require a police report, and a civil claim against a school is separate from any criminal prosecution of the person who committed the assault. Civil cases use a different standard of proof and can proceed whether or not charges were ever filed.
Are these claims against the school or against the person who committed the assault?
The claims this case review focuses on are against the school. They generally ask whether the institution knew of a risk and failed to act, or responded to a report in a way that fell short of its obligations under Title IX and state law. Claims against an individual are a separate matter.
Who runs the case review, and what does it cost?
The case review is run by Injury Claims, a legal advertising service that is not a law firm. Participating attorneys pay to be included. The review is free, and submitting information does not create an attorney-client relationship. OpenClassActions.com is not a law firm and does not review claims.
What happened in the Cornell University lawsuit?
In September 2026, a former Cornell student filed a civil lawsuit in New York state court against Cornell, Greek organizations and several individual students, alleging she was sexually assaulted at a fraternity house in 2024 and that the university mishandled its response. The allegations have not been proven, and the defendants are contesting the case. Cornell's trustees later hired former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to lead an independent review of how the university handles sexual misconduct.
Sources
- California State Auditor, Report 2025-050: University of California and California State University sexual harassment (June 2026)
- U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Rape and Sexual Assault Victimization Among College-Age Females, 1995–2013
- U.S. Department of Justice, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
- PBS NewsHour, Cornell brings in former DOJ official Sally Yates to review handling of sex assault claims (October 2026)
- WAFB, LSU releases law firm's review of sexual misconduct cases (March 2021)
- WBRZ, LSU pays out nearly $2 million to students who accused university of Title IX failures (2024)
