The University of Tennessee has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit recently brought up against the school regarding its atmosphere and culture towards acts of sexual assault.
While the motion does advocate to dismiss the lawsuit, it doesn’t necessarily mean the lawsuit is going away any time soon.
The motion for dismissal is due to what the University calls an “improper venue.” The school claims that since the plaintiffs primarily reside in Knoxville and the incidents allegedly occurred in Knoxville, it is improper for litigation to occur in the Middle Tennessee District. Therefore, according to the motion, the lawsuit should be dismissed or, at minimum, transferred to the East Tennessee District.
In other words, the school would like to fight the lawsuit in Knoxville rather than Nashville where it was originally filed.
The original lawsuit, which claimed UT had mishandled cases of sexual assault in favor student-athletes, was filed by multiple women of former sexual assault cases at UT. However, with the filing of this motion, it appears that the University of Tennessee is standing its ground and will continue to fight the allegations rather than settle.
The full motion can be read here (via WATE).
