This article was updated on May 15, 2026 to reflect that a settlement had been reached.
A federal lawsuit against Liberty University brought by a former Title IX investigator can move forward, a federal district court in the Western District of Virginia decided on March 2.
Video screenshot @Liberty University
Liberty University and several of its administrators, including President Dondi Costin, filed a motion for summary judgment, asking the court to decide in its favor and prevent the plaintiff’s claims from moving forward to trial.
The court granted a few of the defendants’ requests, but left much of the lawsuit intact to move ahead through the legal process.
Peter Brake is a Liberty graduate and an attorney, who served for over 20 years as a U.S. Army Judge Advocate. He was employed in 2019 as a full-time Civil Rights Investigator in Liberty’s Office of Equity and Compliance/Title IX and as an adjunct professor.
While employed at Liberty, Brake took a 3½-year leave of absence starting in January 2020 to serve active duty with the U.S. Army. He had moved to reserve military duty at this point.
According to the lawsuit, Liberty administrators referred to Brake as a “squatter” and his absence as a “problem” because they were required to hold his position while he served in the U.S. Army.
Upon his return in October 2023, Brake claims he suffered discrimination in violation of Title IX, the Uniformed Services Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), and the Virginia Whistleblower Protection Law.
Brake alleged that he was fired after making “good faith reports” about violations of Title IX and the Clery Act at Liberty. Liberty was fined $14 million by the federal Department of Education in 2024 for “material and ongoing violations” of the Clery Act, “including with respect to its published crime statistics and treatment of sexual assault survivors.”
When he inquired about his salary under USERRA and whether it was commensurate with others in the office, Brake claims that Liberty’s compliance officer Ashley Reich lied to him about others’ salaries, said she would not discuss his salary until the following year, and told him he was “lucky” that an investigator position was open.
U.S. District Judge Norman Moon determined that Brake’s claims under Title IX and USERRA could continue. However, he found that Costin and Steven Ferro — in the Human Resources department — are not employers under the USERRA, so the claims against those defendants will no longer continue.
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The judge also found that Brake’s claims under the Virginia Whistleblower Protection Act should survive because he sufficiently showed that he engaged in protected whistleblower activity through his reports and there was a reasonable connection between his reports and his termination.
Erika Woolfolk, a former civil rights investigator in Liberty University’s Office of Equity and Compliance for Title IX, also filed a lawsuit against the college in August 2025 for wrongful termination and discrimination against her on the basis of her race and because she was a whistleblower. Her case is ongoing.
Update: The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia entered an order of dismissal without prejudice on May 15, 2026, stating that the parties had “reached a settlement in principle.” Once the parties enter their joint stipulation of dismissal by June 23, 2026, the order will convert to a dismissal with prejudice, meaning it can’t be brought again.
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