(WANE) — On Wednesday, Huntington University and the university’s Board of Trustees filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the university by two former university cross country and track runners.
The lawsuit against the university made claims of doping and sexual assault within the cross country and track programs, and it also claims school officials and other coaches did not stop what was going on.
Former Huntington coaches Nicholas Johnson and his wife, Lauren Johnson, as well as former assistant coach Curtis Hines, the university, the university’s board of trustees are named as defendants in the lawsuit, along with unnamed administrators.
However, in a 24-page brief in support of the motion to dismiss, the university claims the lawsuit failed to state a claim under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, according to court documents.
The court documents call the lawsuit a “lengthy complaint” from the plaintiffs that “fails to allege facts to support the most basic elements of a claim under Title IX.”
The motion goes on to say the plaintiffs did not prove the university knew about the alleged discrimination and abuse.
Huntington also wants the plaintiffs to refile their state-law claims in the appropriate state court if the lawsuit is dismissed, according to court documents.