UC Berkeley settlement: Former law dean reaches agreement with former aide
The former dean of the UC Berkeley law school and his former assistant reached a legal settlement in her long-standing sexual harassment lawsuit against him, it was announced Friday.
Sujit Choudhry agreed to pay $50,000 to charity and $50,000 in legal fees to settle the case, according to statements released by the university and by his former assistant, Tyann Sorrell.
Terms of additional settlements between Sorrell and the university, and between Choudhry and the university, were not released.
In a statement released Friday, Sorrell said the $50,000 payment to charity represented a “significant financial contribution to a number of organizations of my choice that deal with the serious issues of sexual harassment and abuse.”
Sorrell’s attorney, Leslie Levy, said the terms of the settlement represented a “minor slap on the wrist” for Choudhry and that her client is “continuing to heal and struggle.” She said her client was not permitted to comment further under the terms of the agreement.
The agreement was signed March 31 but announced late Friday before the holiday weekend. University officials and Choudhry did not return calls seeking comment, and Levy said the timing of the announcement was “intended to minimize student and staff reaction” to the news of the settlement.
In a statement, the university said all litigation in the case “has now been dismissed.”
Sorrell had sued Choudhry and the university over the allegations and Choudhry, an Asian, sued the university for singling him out because of his race. He is being allowed to continue his two-year sabbatical through May 2018 and keep his research funding and travel expenses.
In her suit, Sorrell said Choudhry kissed, hugged and touched her. In her statement, Sorrell said she “look(s) forward to a day when sexual harassment and abuse is no long denied, enabled, ignored or tolerated.”
Former UC provost Claude Steele, who participated in the case, said he was “glad to see this case resolved (and) hope all parties have a sense of justice about it and can find some peace.”
“I believe this case (has) deepened the university’s resolve and led to changes that should reduce the incidence of sexual harassment,” Steele said. “It has been a painful period, and we have further to go.”