Stevens v. Brigham Young Univ. - Idaho

588 F.Supp.3d 1117

Lori STEVENS, Plaintiff,

v.BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY - IDAHO, dba BYU-Idaho, Defendant.

Case No. 4:16-cv-00530-BLW

United States District Court, D. Idaho.

Signed March 2, 2022

Amanda Elizabeth Ulrich, DeAnne Casperson, Casperson Ulrich Dustin PLLC, Idaho Falls, ID, for Plaintiff.

Christine R. Arnold, Haley Krug, Steven B. Andersen, Kirton McConkie, Boise, ID, for Defendant Brigham Young University - Idaho.

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER

B. Lynn Winmill, United States District Court Judge

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff, Lori Stevens, brought this action against Defendant, Brigham Young University – Idaho (BYU-I) alleging teacher-on-student hostile environment/sexual harassment in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments Act; teacher-on-student quid pro quo sexual harassment; violation of the Rehabilitation Act and Americans with Disabilities Act (Hostile Learning Environment); and violation of the Idaho Human Rights Act. These allegations arise out of an intimate sexual relationship that occurred between Stevens, a former student at BYU-I, and Stephen Stokes, a former professor for BYU-I, and the manner in which BYU-I handled the situation once it learned of the Stevens-Stokes relationship.

Before the Court are Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 272), Defendant's Renewed Motion for Sanctions (Dkt. 278), and Plaintiff's Motion to Strike (Dkt. 282). For the reasons discussed below, the Court will grant in part and deny in part the Motion for Summary Judgment, deny the Renewed Motion for Sanctions, and grant the Motion to Strike.

BACKGROUND¹

Stevens has suffered a history of abusive relationships that has caused her to have mental health issues, including severe anxiety, agoraphobia, and PTSD. In April 2014, she was finally mentally and emotionally stable enough to go back to school to earn a degree. Her counselors encouraged her to attend BYU-I² because they thought it would be a safe environment that would be free from abusive relationships.

Prior to enrolling at BYU-I, Stevens met with the BYU-I disability office to arrange for accommodations for her disabilities. The disability office in turn sent letters to her professors regarding her needed accommodations.

In June 2014, Stevens met Stephen Stokes for the first time. Stokes was a faculty member in the Sociology and Social Work Department (the Department). When Stevens stated who she was, Stokes told Stevens that he had known her father, who was deceased. Stokes invited Stevens to his office after class and told Stevens that her father had inspired him to reach out to Stevens to say hello. This was the first of many times that Stokes credited Stevens’ deceased father with bringing Stevens into Stokes life. Stokes, who was well aware of Stevens’ disabilities, encouraged Stevens to change her major to social work, offered to be her advisor, and helped her fill out the transfer paperwork.

Stokes also began to integrate himself into Stevens’ life. He mentored her in her academic program; he advised her about how to parent her children; he talked with her about her callings³ and her finances; he assisted her financially; he came to her home; he advocated for her at BYU-I; he obtained medication for her; and he spent time with her children. At the beginning, Stevens saw Stokes as her adviser and counselor, and as a father figure.

By the fall of 2014, Stokes had placed a picture of Stevens and her deceased father on his desk. He told Stevens, that Heavenly Father put Stokes into her life for a reason, and he began texting and calling Stevens on a frequent basis.

Stokes began to actively isolate Stevens from her support networks, including her church leaders and mental health counselors. Stevens stopped going to see her counselor and case manager, whom she had been seeing weekly, because Stokes told her he would act in their place. He told Stevens that he was the only one who could help her, he had been directed by God that he was the only one who could help her, and she could not trust anyone else.

Stokes also began to physically touch Stevens, starting with hugs, then progressing to "spinal touch therapy," and then to sexual touching, including putting his hand down Stevens’ pants. When she jumped and started to cry, Stokes told her he wanted her to be comfortable with him touching her because masturbation would cure her anxiety. He told Stevens that she needed to start engaging in self-gratification to manage her anxiety, that he wanted to show her how to self-gratify, and placed his hands down her pants without permission and began rubbing her private area.

Stevens initially responded by telling Stokes that what he was doing was not okay and trying to move away. She also questioned whether this "treatment" was legitimate. Stokes presented her with medical literature describing self-gratification as a legitimate medical treatment and asserted, based upon his church authority, that self-gratification was an acceptable practice for adults in the LDS Church.

Stokes’ sexual contact with Stevens continued to increase from that point, and continued through June 30, 2016. Stokes would come over to Stevens’ house uninvited; would take Stevens’ clothes off; would engage in sexual touching with Stevens, including oral sex and masturbation; and would engage in sexual intercourse with Stevens. Stokes told Stevens that sexual intercourse was acceptable within church doctrine as long as he did not ejaculate inside of her. At one point, Stokes, who was already married to someone else, performed what he claimed was a "marriage ceremony" with Stevens. He told Stevens that God had consecrated their relationship and she was his wife.

Due to Stevens’ history of abuse and disability, and Stokes’ position of power at both BYU-I and in the LDS Church, Stevens believed what he told her. When Stevens objected to Stokes’ actions, Stokes would provide examples from LDS Church scripture of other instances where someone engaged in otherwise sinful actions that God condoned. Stokes would tell Stevens that she just needed to have more faith and she would receive the same revelation⁴ as Stokes. Stokes also sent Stevens sexually oriented text messages to which Stevens objected.

Much of this sexual conduct between Stokes and Stevens occurred in Stokes’ office on the BYU-I campus. Numerous other faculty members and staff in the Department frequently saw Stokes with Stevens.

Stokes’ conduct exacerbated Stevens’ mental health issues. Stevens frequently ended up in the hospital for treatment of her symptoms. She began avoiding campus in order to avoid Stokes. Despite this, Stokes would still show up at her house and her children's school activities and performances. Because Stokes considered Stevens to be his "wife," he referred to Stevens’ children as "his" children. Stokes convinced Stevens that having sex with her was part of God's plan.

Stokes became increasingly involved in Stevens’ life. He was constantly around her and was either texting her and asking her where she was, showing up where she went, or showing up at her house uninvited. He would masturbate her every time he got her alone. Stevens could not get away from him. She tried to end things with Stokes, but he would not allow it. She told him several times to leave her alone, and his response was, "Never."

Stevens’ mental health deteriorated to the point that she felt she could not continue with things the way they were. She finally reached out to Danielle Spencer, who was, at the time, a friend of Stevens. She asked Spencer if they could talk. Spencer agreed, but explained that if Stevens told her anything that needed to be reported, she would report it.

Stevens talked with Spencer about some of the things that were going on between Stevens and Stokes—that Stokes was calling Stevens his "wife" and telling her that he loved her; that he was touching and kissing her; that he was coming to her house and refusing to leave her alone; and that he was telling her that God approved of the things that he was doing with her. Stevens also told Spencer that she (Stevens) was trying to push Stokes away and trying to get him to stop, but that she was unable to do so and that she needed help. Spencer had also observed interactions between Stevens and Stokes, including Stokes’ physical contact with Stevens, such as brushing Stevens’ hair out of her face, touching Stevens’ shoulder, and having Stevens sit on his lap.

On June 3, 2016, after her conservation with Stevens, Spencer spoke with Lisa Fox, a counselor at BYU-I. Spencer explained that she wanted to get advice from Fox about how to handle an ethical issue about which she had recently become aware. Spencer confided to Fox that a close friend [Stevens] had recently told Spencer that she [Stevens] had been having an emotional and physical relationship with one of their mutual professors [Stokes], who was married. Spencer explained to Fox that she had told Stevens that things between Stevens and Stokes needed to end, and that Stevens had agreed but had also explained that she had tried to end the relationship before without success. Spencer told Fox that she (Spencer) knew Stokes well and that she felt inclined to talk to him personally but wanted to run it by Fox first to get her advice.

On the evening of June 3, 2016, Spencer confronted Stokes at his office. Spencer told Stokes that she knew there was something going on between him and Stevens. Stokes told Spencer that it was not for her to judge and that it was not the time for him to leave Stevens. He also told Spencer that God revealed to him that he was in the right, and that he loved Stevens. During the conversation, Stokes referred to Stevens as his wife.

That same evening, Spencer sent follow-up texts to Stevens, stating:

Lori I love you and am trying to respect your agency. I do not want to be one more person in your life dictating your choices. I am trying to balance that respect with the obligation I feel as your friend to stand

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