Overview
- U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin issued a preliminary injunction barring immediate funding cuts, fines, or settlement conditions against the University of California during ongoing litigation.
- The order blocks a blanket denial of new grants to UCLA and prevents agencies from seeking payouts or conditioning UC funds on viewpoint-based terms under Titles VI and IX.
- The ruling halts a proposed $1.2 billion penalty for UCLA following earlier freezes of roughly $584 million in research grants, most of which had already been restored by prior court action.
- Labor and faculty unions brought the case on First Amendment, Tenth Amendment, and due-process grounds, while the UC system was not a party and remains in separate settlement discussions.
- The case continues and could be appealed to the Ninth Circuit, as the court flagged broader federal settlements with schools such as Brown and Columbia as part of the challenged enforcement playbook.