University of Michigan reaches $490M settlement in sexual abuse case

After months of negotiation, the University of Michigan has reached a settlement in the case against the school that sought retribution for over 1,000 victims of sexual abuse by former sports doctor, Robert Anderson.

The suit alleges Anderson, who died in 2008, sexually abused the former students, who are mostly male, over a period of several years. Associate vice president for public affairs at the University of Michigan, Rick Fitzgerald, announced a settlement this week, and University President Mary Sue Coleman confirmed that while the settlement still needs to be signed by the Board of Regents and agreed to by all the claimants.

The suit was filed after a former University of Michigan student athlete wrote a letter to police in 2018 explaining that he and many others had been abused by Anderson.

While the police were unable to press charges against Anderson because he was already dead, they did find the University had knowledge of the abuse and failed to act, which allowed them to press charges and file the suit. 

The settlement is $10M less than the Michigan State settlement, reached last year in the case against former school sports doctor Larry Nassar.