ST PAUL, Minn. — A St. Paul university settled a lawsuit first filed in 2023 after a professor displayed an image of the Prophet Muhammad in a lecture.
On Monday, Dr. Erika López Prater and Hamline University settled the lawsuit. The terms of the settlement are sealed. The parties are ordered to either finalize the settlement and submit a stipulation for dismissal within 60 days or to send a joint letter to the court explaining why and if more time is needed.
Dr. Erika López Prater spoke to the New York Times after the incident and said she was teaching a global art history class at Hamline University. She told the Times she took precautions before showing her online class the image.
López Prater sued Hamline in 2023 after the university dismissed her. In September, U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez on Friday dismissed several other claims in López Prater’s lawsuit, including those claiming reprisal, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and retaliation. López Prater’s attorney has argued that the school would have treated her differently if she were Muslim.
The judge noted that López Prater's religious discrimination argument is novel and that it will likely be hard to show that the university would have treated her differently if she were Muslim. Nevertheless, she rejected Hamline University's request to dismiss the claim entirely.
The university later decided not to renew López Prater's contract.
