Sherrone Moore’s former executive assistant, Paige Shiver, has filed a lawsuit against the University of Michigan, four months after she departed her role in the athletics department.
Shiver and her legal team submitted the complaint Wednesday in Washtenaw County court. According to the lawsuit, reviewed by the Daily Mail, she alleges the university is intentionally withholding documents tied to a $12 million investigation into the controversy.
The filing says Shiver is seeking access to the requested records as well as punitive damages. She claims Michigan violated the Freedom of Information Act by rejecting records requests made on her behalf after the football coach was dismissed over an alleged inappropriate relationship with her.
“It was important for our client to file this initial FOIA lawsuit to ensure the truth and facts come out,” attorney Andrew M. Stroth said in a statement provided to the Daily Mail.
University spokesman Paul Corliss declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Moore was fired in December after two seasons leading the Wolverines, a tenure that followed Jim Harbaugh’s departure for the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers.
Paige Shiver is shown with Sherrone Moore during her time working as his executive assistant.
Shiver has filed her own lawsuit against the University of Michigan, seeking records she says were withheld along with punitive damages.
He was accused of confronting Shiver, with whom he had been having an affair, and blaming her for his firing. Authorities said she had previously ended the affair and spoken to school officials about it.
The coach was accused of barging his way through Shiver’s door, grabbing butter knives and scissors before threatening to kill himself. The 40-year-old father of three was arrested and charged with home invasion and stalking as well as breaking and entering.
Moore pleaded no contest to trespassing and malicious use of a telecom device and was placed on probation in April for 18 months.
Shiver did not attend the hearing and released a statement saying the sentence ‘does not reflect the harm done to me.’
The plea deal came after attorney Ellen Michaels planned to aggressively challenge how police gathered and shared information to get an arrest warrant. She argued that police didn’t disclose that Moore and Shiver had a working relationship that involved calls and text messages.
Attorney Julie Murphy sent the university a series of FOIA requests, including the investigative file related to Moore’s firing, from February to June and each was denied by the school.
Moore, pictured in court with his wife Kelli, was fired by the Michigan Wolverines in December
‘This public university paid Jenner & Block $12 million to investigate the Sherrone Moore scandal and the abuse, Title IX and Title VII violations within the athletic department and Schembechler Hall, yet now refuses to release the investigation’s findings,’ Stroth said.
Shiver and her legal team claim school officials are ‘arbitrarily and capriciously’ breaking the law by not providing the records related to Jenner & Block’s investigation.
‘The lawsuit filed today demands transparency and accountability from the University of Michigan, President Grasso and the Board of Regents,’ Stroth added in his statement on Shiver’s behalf.
In the suit, Shiver claims that during her employment at the school, she was ‘discriminated against and subjected to a hostile work environment on the basis of her sex, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Michigan law including Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act.’
The legal action looks set to spark the next lengthy and expensive controversy for the embattled school, which is still reeling from Moore’s very public scandal.
Moore, pictured with wife Kelli, allegedly threatened to kill himself during the shocking incident
Moore arrives in court before Washtenaw County District Judge J. Cedric Simpson in February
It also comes just four months after Shiver quietly left her position in the athletics department in the wake of the scandal.
Back in March, a department spokesperson told the Daily Mail that Shiver’s contract expired and she no longer works for Wolverines athletics. The spokesperson did not offer any more details on her departure from the program.
Shiver, 32, had been a visible part of the Wolverines football program as Moore’s executive assistant. She’s also the daughter of Bears scout Jeff Shiver, who has been a constant presence with the historic NFL team since 1987.
After dismissing Moore, Michigan has since hired former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham to take over the storied football program.
