She was required to attend the event - but not required to arbitrate what happened there
A sorority told a student she had to attend a fraternity mixer. What happened next landed in an appellate court.
New York's Appellate Division, Second Department, ruled on September 23 that the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act - the EFAA - can stop a party from forcing arbitration even when that party did not commit the alleged assault. It is the first time the court has addressed the question.
The student was a member of Sigma Delta Tau at SUNY Cortland. According to the complaint, the sorority "expected and obligated" her to attend a mixer hosted by a fraternity at an off-campus location in September 2023. That fraternity had allegedly been removed from campus due to "previous inappropriate and dangerous conduct." Alcohol and intoxicating substances were provided to attendees. The student became impaired, and a fraternity member took her to a nearby location and sexually assaulted her.
She did not sue the sorority for the assault. She sued for negligence - arguing the sorority required her attendance, knew or should have known about the fraternity's track record, and failed to protect its members.
The sorority's response was an arbitration clause in its membership contract: all disputes to be resolved "by arbitration in Indiana before one arbitrator." The lower court agreed and ordered arbitration.
The appellate court reversed.
The EFAA, which Congress enacted in 2022, makes predispute arbitration agreements unenforceable in any case that "relates to" a sexual assault or harassment dispute. The sorority argued the statute did not reach a negligence claim brought against a party that did not commit the assault.
The court was not persuaded. It read "relates" broadly - requiring only a "logical connection or nexus" to the sexual assault dispute. Here, the student's entire negligence theory rested on the sorority placing her in a situation that led to the assault. That connection was enough.
The court cited federal decisions in New Jersey and Florida where negligence and supervision claims tied to alleged sexual assaults were similarly held to fall within the EFAA.
The ruling matters for any organization - sorority, employer, cruise line - that pairs a mandatory arbitration clause with mandatory attendance at events. If a negligence or supervision claim traces back to an alleged assault, the arbitration clause may not hold.
