Colorado State University wins retaliation lawsuit brought by ex-prof

Pat Ferrier | The Coloradoan

A jury took just more than two hours to rule CSU did not violate the law in its dealings with a former professor who sued for retaliation after she complained she was sexually harassed.

The jury of two women and four men unanimously ruled computer science professor Christina Boucher engaged in protected action when she complained about sexual harassment and the culture for women in the computer sciences department and filed a complaint with the university’s Office of Equal Opportunity.

But it found Boucher suffered no adverse actions because of it and awarded no damages. Boucher was seeking more than $500,000 in damages for the emotional distress she said she suffered because of CSU’s action.

Boucher, who now teaches at the University of Florida, was not in the Larimer County District Courtroom when the verdict was read just before 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Lawyers from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office representing CSU referred all questions to the public information officer, Annie Skinner, who did not answer her phone Tuesday.

A statement from CSU spokesman Mike Hooker said CSU "takes sexual harassment and retaliation laws very seriously and we are pleased the jury agreed the university did not violate the law."

"CSU has always denied any wrongdoing in this case, and it is important to differentiate between the statements Dr. Christina Boucher previously made to the media along with the allegations in her complaint compared with the actual evidence that was introduced at trial," the statement said.

"The jury's verdict is consistent with the findings of the CSU Office of Equal Opportunity, which had previously investigated Dr. Boucher's complaints and determined that no university policy had been violated and that there was no sexual harassment or retaliation against Dr. Boucher."

Hooker said the verdict also vindicates CSU Dean Janice Nerger and computer science chairman Darrell Whitley.

Sam Cannon, representing Boucher, said his client was disappointed and they would be meeting to discuss a possible appeal. “We have to evaluate our options,” Cannon said.

CSU’s attorneys hugged and celebrated with Nerger and Whitley, who were originally named in the original suit but later dropped. Dr. Asa Ben Hur was also originally named in the lawsuit and later dropped, leaving CSU’s Board of Governors as the only defendant in the case.

The verdict wraps up a long chapter that began in 2014 when Boucher first complained she was sexually harassed and made to feel uncomfortable by a male professor in the department.

Boucher testified the emotional distress continued for a couple years until she left the university in 2016 and joined the University of Florida, where she is on tenure track.

Jurors leaving the courthouse said they decided as a group not to talk to reporters.