A former Pitt law student has sued the University, claiming Pitt employees mistreated her when they responded to a Title IX complaint she filed.
Hannah Rullo filed a lawsuit Oct. 25 in the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh against the University of Pittsburgh saying she was subjected to gender discrimination by Pitt employees and the University’s Title IX office.
Rullo had filed a Title IX complaint against her ex-boyfriend last September but says Pitt officials didn’t conduct a thorough investigation, the lawsuit claims. The incident ended with her being suspended from Pitt.
The lawsuit alleges Pitt did not take Rullo’s complaints seriously and engaged in “deliberate indifference” that resulted in an unsafe environment.
Rullo’s lawsuit singles out Kevin Deasy, associate dean of students at Pitt Law, and Kristy Rzepecki, a Pitt Title IX office employee, as discriminating against her during the process of filing a Title IX complaint.
University spokesperson Joe Miksch said in an email Monday that Pitt doesn’t comment on pending litigation. Rzepecki did not respond to a voicemail left on her office phone Monday morning. The Title IX office declined to comment and referred questions back to Pitt’s communication office.
Deasy, reached in his office, declined to comment and referred questions to Pitt’s general council. Late Monday morning, Susan McCarthy in the general council’s office said Geovette Washington, Pitt’s chief legal officer, was unavailable.