⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

We hear the Tenth Circuit in Cooperstein versus the University of Utah. Ian Cooperstein was a personal trainer and supervisor in the university's recreation program. He says his supervisor sexually harassed him and the university fired him for complaining. The university says his position was eliminated in a planned restructuring. The district court ruled for the university without a trial. Cooperstein will argue that disputed evidence should have gone to a jury. The dispute is about when he complained, when his job was marked for elimination, and whether restructuring was the real reason. Summary judgment allows a ruling without trial when no genuine dispute remains over facts that matter and the moving party is entitled to judgment under the law. Prima facie means the initial showing needed to support a claim; pretext means an explanation that covers up an unlawful reason.

Cooperstein v. University of Utah (No. 25-4133) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, argued September 16, 2026.