On Monday, January 25, 2016, it was announced that Florida State University had agreed to settle a federal lawsuit against it with former student Erica Kinsman for a purported $950,000.
Kinsman had filed the lawsuit against the school in January 2015 on Title IX grounds, spawning from allegations made by her accusing former FSU and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting quarterback Jameis Winston of sexual assault. According to Kinsman’s complaint, Winston raped her while she was in an inebriated state following the two meeting in a bar in December 2012; the criminal charges against the young quarterback were subsequently dropped for lack of evidence.
Kinsman had accused Florida State of refusing to investigate her allegations against Winston as federal statute requires, claiming this led to her experiencing what she described as a “hostile educational environment” and her having to eventually withdraw from the university.
According to the proposed terms of the settlement agreement, Kinsman will receive $250,000 while her attorneys will get the remaining amount of $700,000. If true, this will amount to the largest settlement agreement ever to be paid to a single plaintiff alleging a school’s indifference to sexual assault allegations.
The case was scheduled for trial for this upcoming July after the university’s motion to dismiss was denied in August 2015. Kinsman’s civil suit against Winston on charges of assault, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress remains open.