Penn urges court to reject controversial professor Amy Wax’s bid to revive discrimination suit

Penn filed a brief on Wednesday urging a federal appeals court to reject University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School professor Amy Wax’s attempt to revisit her discrimination lawsuit against the University.

The University wrote on March 18 that Wax improperly introduced new arguments, claiming retaliation by the administration as part of her January appeal. Her suit — which alleges violations of tenure protection and unfair treatment based on her race — was originally dismissed by United States District Court Senior Judge Timothy Savage in August 2025.

“Plaintiff’s belated effort to reinvent her legal theories comes nowhere close to ​satisfying this Court’s rules for issue preservation,” Penn wrote as part of its argument to reaffirm the judgment of the district court.

A University spokesperson declined a request to comment. A request was left with Wax’s lawyers.

Penn characterized Wax’s appeal as a “belated effort to reinvent her legal theories,” adding that it “comes nowhere close to satisfying this Court’s rules for issue preservation.”

In her appeal, Wax argued that Penn’s sanctions against her — spanning a one-year suspension at half pay and the revocation of her named chair — violated federal civil rights law. 

Penn first launched disciplinary proceedings in 2022 after a group of alumni, students, and faculty filed complaints alleging that Wax had used discriminatory language both inside and outside the classroom. Four years later, the University upheld sanctions initially recommended by a Faculty Senate hearing board.

“The district court failed to accept Professor Wax’s well-pled allegations as true, as it was obligated to do on a motion to dismiss,” her appeal read. 

She also claimed that Savage improperly relied on Penn’s characterization of “hotly disputed facts” in disciplinary reports about her statements concerning race, and used a narrow definition of retaliation.

Penn’s recent response argues that Wax failed to “identify a single instance of the district court crediting any finding by Penn over a contrary well-pleaded allegation in her Complaint — let alone explain how such an example would warrant reversal of the dismissal order.” 

Savage’s dismissal of Wax’s original case concluded that she “does not allege facts showing that she was discriminated against.” 

“It is a discrimination case brought under federal antidiscrimination laws,” Savage wrote at the time. “It calls for us to determine whether offensive comments directed at racial minorities are protected by those laws.”

Her original suit, filed in January 2025, claimed that Penn’s speech policy breaks several laws — including Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibit racial discrimination by federal fund recipients and employers.

In November 2025, Wax also filed a separate breach of contract lawsuit in the Montgomery County, Pa., Court of Common Pleas — a case that is currently stalled pending the outcome of her federal appeal.

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