For information contact:

Alex Zalkin
858-259-3011 office

Irwin Zalkin
858-259-3011 office

858-945-2147 mobile

858-945-2144 mobile

alex@zalkin.com

irwin@zalkin.com

MEDIA ALERT
Press Conference: Monday, June 29, 2015, 11:00 am
Three Victims File Title IX Campus Sexual Assault Civil Lawsuit
Against University of California Regents UC Berkeley
Lawsuit Alleges that UC Berkeley Failed to Adequately Protect Victims and
Investigate Complaints of Sexual Assaults
What:
Press conference to announce a Title IX campus sexual assault civil lawsuit to be filed
against the University of California Board of Regents.
The suit will be filed on behalf of Plaintiffs Sofie Karasek, Aryle Butler and Nicoletta
Commins, who were all UC Berkeley students at the time they were sexually assaulted.
Q&A will follow opening remarks.
Copies of the complaint will be available.
Who:
Attorneys Alex Zalkin and Irwin Zalkin of The Zalkin Law Firm, attorneys for the plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs Sofie Karasek, Aryle Butler and Nicoletta Commins.
When:

Monday, June 29, 2015, at 11:00 a.m.

Where:

Courtyard Oakland Emeryville

Yerba Buena Island Room

Address:

5555 Shellmound St
Emeryville, CA 94608

NEWS
June 29, 2015

Contacts:

Alex Zalkin
858-259-3011 office
858-945-2147 mobile
alex@zalkin.com

Irwin Zallkin
858-259-3011 office
858-945-2144 mobile
irwin@zalkin.com

Three Victims File Title IX Campus Sexual Assault Civil Lawsuit

Against University of California Regents UC Berkeley
Lawsuit Alleges that UC Berkeley Failed to Adequately Protect Victims and
Investigate Complaints of Sexual Assaults
Berkeley, CA June 29, 2015 The Zalkin Law Firm has announced that it will file a Title IX civil
lawsuit against the University of California Regents UC Berkeley on behalf of three women who
allege that they were sexually assaulted while students at UC Berkeley. The lawsuit claims that
the University failed to comply with Title IX requirements related to sexual harassment and assault.
The complaint will be filed on Monday, June 29 in the Alameda County Superior Court.
The civil complaint outlines the details of alleged sexual assaults on three Plaintiff victims, Sofie
Karasek, Aryle Butler and Nicoletta Commins, who were all students at UC Berkeley when they
were assaulted. Ms. Karasek was allegedly sexually assaulted by another student during an
organized off campus trip of the Cal Berkeley Democrats Club in February 2012. Ms. Butler was a
paid research assistant for a UC Berkeley graduate student conducting research in Alaska and
living at Alaska Wildlands Studies Program in the summer of 2012. While there, she was sexually
assaulted on multiple occasions by a faculty member of the program, who was also a frequent
guest lecturer at UC Berkeley. Ms. Commins was allegedly sexually assaulted by another UC
Berkeley student in January 2012.
The civil complaint details how all three victims reported these incidents of sexual assault to
university authorities. MS. Karasek reported the incident to Club leadership, and representatives of
the Center for Student Conduct, the Gender Equity Resource Center and the University Title IX
office. Ms. Butler reported her sexual assault incidents to her UC Berkeley graduate student
employer, the UC Berkeley Gender Equity Resource Center and the Title IX office. Ms. Commins
reported her assault to the UC Berkeley Tang Student Health Center and to the Berkeley Police
Department. She was then contacted by a representative of the Tile IX office.
Both Federal legislation known as Title IX and state law requires universities to protect students
from sexual harassment and sexual assault that may deprive the victim of access to educational
opportunities and benefits of the school. Universities that receive complaints of sexual violence are
2

required to exercise due diligence in investigating and responding to those complaints. The
complaint contends that UC Berkeley failed to meet its responsibilities under Title IX and state law
by showing a deliberate indifference to the Plaintiffs complaints that resulted in their being
deprived of educational opportunities and benefits at the university. In addition, the civil complaint
alleges that UC Berkeley was negligent by failing to warn, train and educate students about the
known risks of campus sexual violence.
The utter lack of immediate and adequate response by university officials to these and other
complaints of sexual violence experienced by its students is reprehensible, said Alex Zalkin,
attorney for the Plaintiffs. Rather than stepping up and doing the right thing morally and under the
law, UC Berkeley has deliberately shirked its responsibilities which has served to injure and revictimized its students.
The complaint outlines the legal requirements under Title IX for how a federally funded institution
must respond to complaints of sexual assault, according to prior court decisions and guidelines
from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). In 2011, the DOE issued a letter to all universities
that outlined a reasonable response procedure for complaints of sexual assault and indicated that:
Title IX requires the school to take immediate action to eliminate the harassment, prevent its
recurrence and address its effects. (http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague201104.pdf )
According to the complaint, UC Berkeleys response failed to meet even the minimum standards
required under Title IX and the DOE guidelines. As a result, each Plaintiff was deprived of the
educational opportunities and benefits enjoyed by other students. Each Plaintiff suffered severe
emotional and psychological damage, impacts on coursework and GPA, and ongoing fear, anxiety
and stress as the result of the inaction by, and lack of support from, the University.
Four causes of action against the defendants are detailed in the civil complaint; discrimination on
the basis of gender in violation of Title IX and state law, negligent failure to warn, train and or
educate, and fraud. The complaint asks for damages, punitive damages and costs based on the
Plaintiffs physical injury, shock, emotional distress, physical manifestations of emotional distress,
embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, disgrace, humiliation, and loss of enjoyment of life that has
prevented and will continue to be prevent her from performing normal daily activities and for the
resulting loss of earnings and earning capacity; and expenses for medical and psychological
treatment, therapy, and counseling.
About The Zalkin Law Firm
With offices in San Diego, CA, the firm's lawyers have represented hundreds of survivors of
childhood sexual abuse and achieved results in numerous high-profile clergy abuse cases across
the United States. The Zalkin Law Firm has aggressively represented survivors who suffered child
sexual abuse and sexual assault while members of religious and other organizations, including the
Catholic Church, foster care, Boy Scouts, recovery homes, foreign student exchange programs,
colleges and the Jehovahs Witnesses. www.zalkin.com
The Zalkin Law Firm - 12555 High Bluff Drive Suite 301 - San Diego, CA 92130