AP News, February 1st, 2007
A lawsuit that prompted a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision over affirmative action admissions policies at the University of Michigan was settled Wednesday, concluding a nearly decade-old legal battle.
The university will pay $10,000 each to plaintiffs Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher to cover miscellaneous costs, the two sides said. In exchange, the two agreed to drop all claims under a nearly 40,000-member class-action lawsuit against the university seeking unspecified damages for its former affirmative action admissions policies.
"The university is pleased with today's resolution of the case," U-M spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham said in a statement. "The case was dismissed and there was no finding that the university's pre-2003 admissions policies caused injuries to the plaintiffs."
Terry Pell, whose Center for Individual Rights sued the university in 1997, said the plaintiffs felt it would have been difficult to argue they had suffered damages, since both attended public universities and not more costly private schools.
"I think this is in the best interest of everybody," Pell said. "There are obviously thousands of individuals who've been patiently waiting since 2003 to begin the process of claiming damages, and this allows them to do that more quickly than would have been the case."
In June 2003, the Supreme Court upheld a general affirmative action policy at Michigan's law school but struck down the university's undergraduate formula, which awarded admission points based on race. Gratz and Hamacher sued over the undergraduate formula.
In November, Michigan voters approved Proposal 2, which bans the use of race and gender preferences in university admissions and government hiring.
Michigan, along with Michigan State and Wayne State universities, had sought a six-month extension to wrap up current admissions and financial aid cycles under the existing rules.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the universities' request on Jan. 19. All three universities have said they are now complying or attempting to comply with Proposal 2.
