As expected, the University of Colorado at Boulder filed an appeal today of a court ruling that revived a federal gender-discrimination lawsuit against the university.

Last month a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit unanimously reversed a lower court’s 2005 decision dismissing a lawsuit filed by two women who say they were gang-raped at a football-recruiting party in 2001.

The appeals judges rejected the lower court’s conclusion that there was no evidence the university knew of past sexual harassment of women in connection with football recruiting. Instead, the judges held that a jury could reasonably find that the university could have taken action to prevent the incident. The ruling could alter the enforcement of Title IX, the federal gender-equity law that is the basis of the plaintiffs’ case.

In its appeal, which seeks a rehearing of the case by all the judges on the 10th Circuit bench, Colorado contends that the appeals court’s decision conflicts with previous holdings by the U.S. Supreme Court and the 10th Circuit. Such requests for a review by a full circuit court, known as a rehearing en banc, are rarely granted. —Brad Wolverton