November 4, 2002
Class action suit dismissed
The Washington Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal of lower court decision, which denied class action status in a gender discrimination lawsuit by five present and former members of the dental school faculty. The five women faculty sought represent a class of all past, present and future women faculty, for purposes of asserting claims of discrimination in pay, promotion and other terms of employment. The case will now return to the trial court for resolution of the five plaintiff’s individual claims.
The ruling, issued on October 30th, leaves intact the decision of the Washington Court of Appeals, which held that the proposed class action was improper because decisions concerning pay and promotion depend on individual factors not susceptible of resolution on class-wide basis. The Court of Appeals ruling, which reversed the trial court, is consistent with the majority of other cases around the country where faculty-wide class status has been sought. Additional information on the lawsuit is at http://www.washington.edu/faculty/facsenate/lawsuit/contents.htm
