By Paul Berger September 4, 2014

Thirty-four former students have lost their appeal of a judge’s decision to dismiss their $680 million lawsuit against Yeshiva University.

A three-judge federal appeals court panel ruled today that the students waited decades too long to file claims that they were abused during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s at a Y.U.-run boys high school.

Under Title IX, students have three years from the time they become aware of a school’s deliberate indifference to their abuse to file a suit.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The students said that they first found out that Y.U. knowingly employed abusive staff members in a December 2012 article in the Forward.

But the judges found that the suit, “filed more than 20 years after the last plaintiff left [the school] was correctly dismissed” by a U.S. District court in January.

Matt Yaniv, a spokesman for Y.U., said: “Today’s decision concludes a legal proceeding that has been trying for all involved. Our thoughts remain with anyone who may have been harmed by actions that occurred many years ago and our confidential counseling services remain available to those affected.”

Kevin Mulhearn, a lawyer for the former students, vowed to appeal the decision.

“My clients, sex abuse survivors all, have been violated once again,” Mulhearn said.

“We are not finished,” he added. “Not by a long shot.”

Contact Paul Berger at [email protected] or on Twitter @pdberger

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount