Anderson Survivors To Receive $490 Million Settlement From University Of Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (January 19, 2022) – The University of Michigan (“UM”) and attorneys for approximately 1,050 survivors of the predatory acts of the late Dr. Robert Anderson have announced they have reached a global settlement in principle that would resolve all of those survivors’ claims against the University.

Subject to the approval of the University’s Board of Regents and the individual survivors, UM and the survivors’ attorneys have agreed that UM will pay $490 million to the survivors of Anderson’s assaults, with $460 million to be allocated among the approximately 1,050 survivors who have claims in front of Judge Victoria Roberts in federal court, and an additional $30 million to be reserved for future claimants who choose to participate in the settlement before July 31, 2023. Any funds remaining after July 31, 2023, will be distributed as additional awards to the 1,050 who have already filed claims in the federal mediation.

This settlement agreement was reached under the confidential mediation process facilitated by the court-appointed mediator, Robert F. Riley, and overseen by the Honorable Victoria A. Roberts, United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan. Mediation has been ongoing since October 2020.

“This settlement represents a victory for survivors of sexual abuse and another important step in obtaining transparency, accountability, and justice,” said co-lead plaintiff counsel Mick Grewal. “Today’s settlement and the change it will create in our culture could not have happened without the courageous men and women who stepped forward to tell their stories in this case.”