An Oregon jury has awarded Nicole Gililland more than $1.7 million in a discrimination lawsuit against Southwestern Oregon Community College (SWOCC). Gililland, a former nursing student, sued the institution after alleging discrimination due to her past work as an adult performer.

Jury Finds Breach of Contract

The verdict, announced on Thursday, July 7, 2022, in Eugene, Oregon, awarded Gililland $735,417 in compensation for economic damage and an additional $1 million in punitive damages. The jury found SWOCC in breach of contract for actions taken by the school administration and instructors in 2017-2018, which Gililland claimed derailed her career and life.

Gililland had performed for adult studios for approximately 20 months between 2007 and 2009. Her lawsuit against SWOCC, located in Coos Bay, Oregon, alleged both breach of contract and violations of Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools. While the jury declined to hold SWOCC liable for Title IX violations, it did determine that the college breached its tuition contract by violating its discrimination and unlawful harassment policies.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai had ruled in Gililland’s favor in December 2021, marking the first instance of Title IX being invoked by a student to combat discrimination based on a history of sex work. Judge Kasubhai found that the evidence presented by Gililland directly connected the discrimination to her work history. He also concluded that the professors' actions constituted sex discrimination, as their comments advanced a stereotype of the type of woman "appropriate for the nursing profession" and deemed Gililland unfit.

Allegations of Discrimination and Retaliation

According to Gililland’s claims and the lawsuit, Melissa Sperry, a nursing instructor and academic advisor, became aware of Gililland’s past in the adult industry. Gililland alleged that Sperry then singled her out, assigning her additional work not given to other students. When Gililland submitted this work three days later, Sperry reportedly refused to grade it. Sperry also allegedly lowered Gililland’s grades on tests taken late due to illness, despite Gililland having received accommodation for her recovery.

Gililland claimed that when she questioned these actions, Sperry told her, "unclassy women shouldn’t be nurses, Nicole." Gililland further alleged that Sperry changed passing grades on her work from other instructors to failing grades and accused her of plagiarism. Gililland stated that records were altered to cause her to fail out of the nursing program, a program in which she had previously been excelling.

Gililland told XBIZ in December that the case involved "a lot of serious miscarriages of justice from the beginning." She added, "Every fail-safe to protect me as a citizen and student had failed me."

Impact and Future Endeavors

The jury’s decision concludes a four-year legal battle for Gililland against her former college. Gililland stated that the verdict provided "the first real example of ethics and reason being applied to what has happened," and that it has given her "a renewed sense of hope in the system."

Currently, Gililland is a law student in Massachusetts. During her years-long fight against SWOCC, she has become involved in sex worker rights advocacy and activism.

Key Facts

  • Nicole Gililland was awarded $1,735,417 by an Oregon jury.
  • The award included $735,417 for economic damage and $1 million in punitive damages.
  • The jury found Southwestern Oregon Community College (SWOCC) in breach of contract.
  • Gililland sued SWOCC for discrimination based on her past as an adult performer between 2007 and 2009.
  • Nursing instructor Melissa Sperry was alleged to have made discriminatory comments and actions.
  • U.S. Magistrate Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai previously ruled in Gililland's favor regarding a Title IX claim.