The allegations of alarming misconduct in the notice and suit have never made headlines— and the university hoped they never would.

After more than two years, the case was settled in March 2023 with a $12 million payment and neither Mokadam or the university admitting wrongdoing. But the university did include a confidentiality clause — also known as an NDA — a legal tool widely used by major corporations and wealthy celebrities to make accusations go away. In this case, the agreement instructed the Hoopers “not to publicize the names or identities of the defendants” with “any description of their conduct.”

Nondisclosure agreements can keep sensitive details out of the public eye, but they have come under attack in recent years for shielding bad actors and allowing misconduct to persist. Critics say they allow prominent people to keep sexual assault allegations under wraps, for instance, and businesses to silence would-be whistleblowers. But there’s been little focus on the persistent use of NDAs to conceal allegations of wrongdoing at taxpayer-funded institutions, including public hospitals.