Judge gives lawsuit class-action status

In step with a ruling in a similar lawsuit against the University last month, a Detroit judge has decided to give the second admissions lawsuit class-action status - potentially increasing the number of applicants impacted by the final ruling.

The class certification could allow applicants with similar qualifications as the white applicant who sued the University to be retroactively admitted to the University if the University loses the case.

Federal Judge Bernard Friedman ruled Thursday that plaintiff Barbara Grutter will represent the class, which could contain thousands of applicants from the time Grutter applied to the present.

The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Individual Rights filed suit against the Law School on Grutter's behalf more than a year ago. The white applicant claims she was unfairly evaluated during the school's admission process because race was used as a factor.

Grutter applied to the Law School in 1996 and she was placed on a waiting list until June 1997 when her application was denied. She argues that "the law school uses race as a 'predominant' factor, giving minority applicants a significantly greater chance of admission than students with similar credentials from disfavored racial groups," court documents state.

Last month, another Detroit judge gave a similar ruling of class-action status to the lawsuit challenging the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. The two plaintiffs in that lawsuit, which CIR also filed, make charges similar to Grutter's.

One of the plaintiffs, Michigan State University sophomore Patrick Hamacher, will represent the class in the undergraduate lawsuit.

In an official statement released Friday, University spokesperson Janet Mendler said the class-action certification does not have significant implications on the University's admission practices.

"As in the undergraduate case, the University does not feel a class is necessary because the University would follow the decision of the courts even without a class," Mendler said.

"This decision does not affect the merits of the case and the University will continue to vigorously defend its admission practices as lawful and essential to good education."

CIR senior legal counsel Terry Pell could not be reached for comment.

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