College Board nixes JSU settlement agreement
A five-year legal battle that has racked up more than $200,000 in legal fees and a $382,000 judgment against Jackson State University will continue after the state College Board voted last week against approving a settlement agreement between the school and its former women’s basketball coach.
In July, Denise Taylor Travis and JSU agreed in a settlement conference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda Anderson to end the case, but it was contingent on College Board approval.
Terms of the proposed settlement weren't disclosed, but sources say the amount was less than the $382,000 judgment awarded to Travis by a jury and a federal judge. She hasn't received any money yet.
It was reported Monday to Anderson that the College Board, after delaying a decision in August, voted Friday not to approve the settlement agreement. No explanation was given for the board’s decision.
Attorney Alan Perry of Jackson, a member of the College Board and its former president, wouldn't comment Monday on the board's action. A spokeswoman for the College Board said the board voted unanimously against approving the agreement.
In January, the Clarion-Ledger requested through the Public Records Act the amount of legal fees paid by Jackson State University in the case. The Clarion-Ledger was provided copies of legal bills from 2011 through 2015. A review of the records showed approximately $206,000 in legal fees had been paid by JSU in the case at the end of 2015.
Travis, who used the last name Taylor when she was at JSU, coached at JSU for 10 seasons, from 2001 to 2011, and led the program to the 2008 SWAC Tournament title. Her contract was renewed in 2010 for four years with her salary set at $91,000 a year. The university fired Taylor in June 2011 after Carolyn Meyers became JSU president.
Travis filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Jackson on Jan. 24, 2012, against the university, alleging wrongful termination, sexual discrimination, invasion of privacy and breach of contract.
READ: new National Museum of African American History and Culture highlights Mississippi's history
In December 2013, a jury ruled in favor of Travis' claim that the university breached her contract and awarded her $182,000. The jury dismissed her sexual discrimination and retaliation claims. Also, in the same case, U.S. District Court Judge Henry T. Wingate ruled in August 2014 in favor of Travis' claim of emotional pain and suffering in her invasion-of-privacy claim and awarded her $200,000.
JSU had filed a motion seeking a new trial or as an alternative for the court to reduce the $382,000 awarded to Taylor. Also, Travis had asked for a new trial on her retaliation claim.
Since the College Board voted against the settlement agreement, the case will go back to where it was prior to the agreement. Wingate will have to rule on the motions.
"It is my understanding that the case will proceed with the court's consideration of the parties' post-trial motions," said LaToya Merritt, an attorney for JSU.
Earlier this year, Wingate conducted a hearing on the motions.
"All of the damages awarded Taylor were unwarranted because Jackson State should have been granted judgment as a matter of law on both claims," said Merritt, an attorney for the school in court papers. "In the alternative only, there were a variety of errors that make a new trial or, at a minimum, a remittitur (reduction in the amount) appropriate."
Travis' attorneys. Louis Watson and Nick Norris, argued that the awards vindicated her and were proper. Travis, through her attorneys, argued her retaliation claim should have been allowed.
In court papers, JSU says it officially terminated Travis' employment pursuant to the "for cause" provision of her contract. Travis filed an arbitration request that JSU denied. She then filed the lawsuit.
Merrit said in court papers that JSU prevailed on the claims of discrimination and retaliation. Travis won on the claims of breach of contract and implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
"Two things dictated judgment as a matter of law in Jackson State's favor: Travis' failure to dispute that she violated Jackson State's reimbursement policies and Taylor's failure to contradict the testimony that Jackson State in fact received complaints from students of mistreatment," Merritt argued in court papers.
But Norris said in court papers that his client never admitted she misappropriated funds and mistreated athletes. He said Travis' argument was that she followed JSU's instructions on how funds were handled and denied she mistreated athletes.
Norris said another one of JSU's arguments is that his client should have lost her invasion-of-privacy claim because The Clarion-Ledger made the allegations public and not the university.
"This argument is absurd," Norris argued. "Defendant (JSU) disclosed the relevant information to The Clarion-Ledger through a public records request. Anytime a state agency discloses information in a public records request it is understood it is public disclosures. Moreover, defendant knew it was disclosing information to The Clarion-Ledger, which has a worldwide audience now with the internet. Defendant also claims the records disclosed were regarding public matters. However, that is not true. They were part of plaintiff's personnel file, which is not a public record."
Contact Jimmie E. Gates at 601-961-7212 or jgates@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @jgatesnews on Twitter.