An allegation in a lawsuit about a Wyoming sorority chapter’s first transgender inductee having an erection while watching another member change is made up, according to the inductee’s attorney.
Six sorority sisters in Wyoming’s Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter are suing the sorority and its housing organization, as well as transgender member Artemis Langford, for the sorority allegedly breaking its own rules to induct Langford.
Among numerous claims against Langford, the women allege that Langford had an erection while watching one of the sorority sisters, Megan Kosar, change her shirt.
Langford’s attorney submitted to the U.S. District Court for Wyoming on Wednesday a photograph of a text message exchange as proof the inflammatory allegation was drunken gossip.
“This sworn allegation appears to be a game of telephone after one sorority sister told a drunken story to another, who repeated the story to Plaintiff Kosar,” reads the latest filing on Langford’s behalf by Jackson-based attorney Rachel Berkness.
Langford is again asking U.S. District Court Alan B. Johnson to drop the sorority women’s claims against Langford.
The women in their complaints have asked the court to void Langford’s membership in the sorority, but they are not asking for money from the inductee.
“After Plaintiffs first filed their Complaint,” Berkness’ filing continues, “(a reported eyewitness told someone) she had been keeping a ‘secret’ that ‘had been weighing her down for months.’”
The woman was “pretty much 100% positive” the erection episode while Kosar changed her shirt did not happen.
The witness had watched Langford the whole time, Berkness claimed, and didn’t see an erection.
When the witness told Kosar this, Berkness alleges, Kosar responded, “D*mn that s*cks,” then added, “But still Artemis is creepy in other ways at least.”
The Complaint
The amended April 20 complaint alleges Langford attended a slumber party with the other sorority sisters and “repeatedly questioned the women about what vaginas look like, breast cup size, whether some women were considering breast reductions and birth control.”
Langford, who does not live in the sorority house but visits it, was slated to leave the slumber party at 10 that night but remained there well into the night and returned the next morning, the complaint alleges.
In the morning, Kosar faced away from the others and took off her shirt while not wearing a bra. After she put on a new shirt, the complaint claims, she turned around and saw Langford staring at her.
Other Kappa members told the woman that day that Langford appeared “sexually aroused” during the incident, the complaint says.
Text Messages, Redacted
Berkness’ filing shows a photograph of a cellphone in a person’s hand displaying redacted text messages about the alleged erection incident.
It’s difficult to discern who said what with the redactions, but the texts read as follows:
“also plz don’t tell megan i was talking to you about it-cuz i also don’t want to be wrong if it truly did happen yk”
The owner of the pictured phone’s reply reads: “F***ing hate (redacted)/Also I won’t/ But like r u in denial”
The anonymous texting partner replies, “me too bruh she’s so ick”
The owner of the phone says, “Or are u not sure/ cause now ur retracting what ur saying”
The other texter says, “well like i’m pretty much 100% positive it did not happen but like also what if (redacted) actually saw something like that…i don’t want to be saying this awful thing didn’t happen. that’s why i only told u and my mom yk”
The phone owner says, “I gotchu (redacted)/That makes sense/ I’m not gonna say anything to megan/ Thank u for telling me I’m glad u did/ That’s a lot of burden to carry on ur shoulders.”
The other person says, “yes ofc, and i’m glad i told you”
‘False Accusations’
Berkness’ filing asks Johnson to dismiss Langford from the lawsuit because the Kappa women allegedly have no real claims against the inductee, and because their complaint is “frivolous or malicious.”
The many claims involving Langford’s behavior – which involve other alleged lurking and gawking incidents beyond the shirt-changing incident Berkness contested in the filing – were unnecessary to advance the women’s breach of contract claim against the sorority, the filing asserts.
“The allegations against Ms. Langford … were borne out of a hypothesis in search of evidence and pieced together using drunken party stories,” says the filing. “Ms. Langford is not a victim; she is a target.”
Sorority, Again
The Kappa sorority headquarters in Ohio, its president and its Wyoming-based housing corporation also asked again Wednesday for Johnson to dismiss the lawsuit.
They claim the women’s requested $650,000 redress is far too much, the women can’t prove the sorority’s president directed actions toward Wyoming, and they have failed to identify a bylaw the sorority has breached.
The women, conversely, have argued all along that the sorority has breached its own founding documents by warping the definition of the word “woman” to admit a male.
The case is ongoing.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
