Meredith Oden v. Northern Marianas College Agnes McPhetres John Does, I-V Bruno Dalla Pozza Board of Regents

Meredith Oden appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgement in favor of Northern Marianas College. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

BACKGROUND

In January, 1996, Meredith Oden enrolled in a music course at Northern Marianas College [“NMC”] taught by Bruno Dalla Pozza, a teacher at NMC and a friend of Oden’s father. Shortly after beginning the course, Dalla Pozza began touching Oden in ways that made her feel uncomfortable. Over the course of the next two months, Dalla Pozza’s treatment of Oden grew increasingly inappropriate, ranging from comments about Oden’s physical appearance to “forcibly kissing [Oden] on the mouth, inserting his tongue in her mouth, and grabbing and touching her body.” In late February Oden contacted a NMC counselor and described to the counselor Dalla Pozza’s behavior. The counselor assisted Oden in preparing a complaint charging Dalla Pozza with sexual harassment. Oden filed the complaint with NMC on March 8, 1996. Oden also informed Dalla Pozza that she was dropping his course. While the disciplinary matter was pending, Dalla Pozza allegedly harassed Oden on two additional occasions, the first of which…