Educational institutions are not subject to liability for punitive damages for private actions brought to enforce Title IX, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has held in vacating a $2 million punitive damages award to former Duke University place kicker Heather Sue Mercer. Mercer v. Duke University, 50 Fed. Appx. 643, 171 Ed. Law Rep. 45 (4th Cir. 2002), is a significant decision that serves to substantially limit the damages liability of institutions for Title IX violations.
Background
Mercer was an all-state kicker at a New York high school. She enrolled at Duke in the fall of 1994 and subsequently tried out for the football team. She didn’t make the team at first, but regularly attended practice that fall and the following spring participated in conditioning drills.
