Category Archives: Legal issues

Seattle Post Intelligencer: Mars Hill Graduate School to pay $300,000 judgment

Mars Hill Graduate School of Seattle was ordered as part of a settlement this week to pay a $300,000 judgment to its first female faculty member in a case involving allegations of harassment and discrimination.

The judgment, ordered in Snohomish County Superior Court, was awarded to Heather Parkinson-Webb, who was also one of the seven founders of the Christian-based school. In addition, the court ordered the school to provide her with a letter expressing its sadness at her departure and regret that “a great deal of misunderstanding” surrounded her departure. The school is also required to continue to provide diversity and anti-discrimination training for all its employees for at least three more years.

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Inside Higher Ed: Anti-Muslim Bias Case Gets Hearing

In many bias cases, allegations involving remarks can come down to a “he said/she said” dispute — with no certainty about what was said.

In an unusual case that went to trial Monday, a judge found that depositions by a one-time dean constituted an admission that he had made comments like those alleged in the complaint by a professor who was ousted as a department chair — despite backing from his department. The judge’s ruling in fact was part of why he rejected a request by La Salle University to dismiss the case.

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The Charleston Gazette: WVU files suit against Rodriguez

School wants judge to determine if it breached contract with ex-coach

West Virginia University sued its former football coach, Rich Rodriguez, on Thursday, in an effort to secure a $4 million buyout from Rodriguez for breaking his contract with the school.

According to the lawsuit, WVU officials want a judge to determine that the school did not breach its contract with Rodriguez. They also say the contract requires Rodriguez to give written notice if the school breached the contract, and that he never did.

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AP: IUP, professor settle suit over dissertation, alleged advances

PITTSBURGH — An Indiana University of Pennsylvania professor who has written about faculty-student relationships has settled a lawsuit brought by a doctoral student who claimed the professor sabotaged his dissertation when he spurned her advances.

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Maclean’s : Student denied entry to U of T sues for $5-mil

Although Adam Rogers moved his three children and pregnant wife into residence at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus, he never saw the inside of a classroom. Rogers — who applied to transfer from Waterloo after his third year — was never accepted into the university despite being offered a residence spot, a situation that he says plunged his family into poverty and is now the centre of a $5-million lawsuit.

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The Chronicle News Blog: Palm-Tree Scandal at MiraCosta College Yields Second Payout

MiraCosta College’s governing board has agreed to pay a former administrator $542,000 to drop one of several lawsuits filed in the wake of a scandal over the illegal sale of thousands of palm trees that belonged to the college, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

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The Chronicle: U. of California at Irvine Is Cleared in Civil-Rights Office’s Investigation of Anti-Semitism Allegations

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has cleared the university of allegations that it violated federal laws against discrimination based on national origin by failing to do enough to respond to complaints of anti-Semitism on its campus.

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Tulsa World: ORU lawsuit: Roberts offers sharing of data

He endorses “complete financial transparency.”

Oral Roberts University President Richard Roberts said he wants “complete financial transparency” at the university if he is allowed to return to his position.

In an interview with the Tulsa World on Friday, Roberts answered criticism by tenured faculty members and others that ORU withheld information about its finances. He also discussed his practice of reimbursing the ministry for personal expenses, a student center that was never built and the possible sale of the university’s television station.

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The Chronicle: Student in Florida Taser Incident Apologizes and Gets Probation Instead of Prosecution

Student in Florida Taser Incident Apologizes and Gets Probation
The University of Florida and Andrew W. Meyer, the student whom campus police officers shocked with a Taser last month, have resolved their differences with forgiveness and letters of apology.

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AP: Tasered Student Avoids Criminal Charges

A University of Florida student who was shocked with a Taser after persistently questioning Sen. John Kerry will avoid criminal charges by apologizing and complying with terms of a voluntary 18-month probation, authorities said Tuesday.

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Union Leader: UNH professor not guilty of stalking

A University of New Hampshire professor accused of going on an angry, expletive-filled diatribe against a colleague in June has been acquitted of all criminal charges stemming from the incident.

John Collins, 57, of Lee, was found not guilty of stalking, a misdemeanor, and disorderly conduct, a violation, at a trial Tuesday in Durham District Court.

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The Chronicle: Chapman U. Whistle-Blower Case Is Dismissed

A closely watched whistle-blower case against Chapman University that could have threatened its accreditation has been dismissed by a federal judge.

The suit, which was made public in 2005, is one of several cases filed against universities under the federal False Claims Act (The Chronicle, August 4, 2006). The plaintiffs alleged that colleges had made false representations on government documents in order to qualify for federal funds.

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The Chronicle: State Report Clears Florida Officers in Taser Incident

Campus police officers at the University of Florida were justified in their use of a Taser to subdue a student who resisted arrest after disrupting a speech by Sen. John F. Kerry last month, a state agency has concluded.

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The Chronicle: California Professor Asks Court to Dismiss Libel Suit

A prominent South Korean fertility researcher who once published a paper saying that prayer could help women get pregnant has filed a defamation lawsuit against an American critic who has waged a campaign against the prayer study.

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Democrat and Chronicle: UR dog suit one of a litter of cases

Colleges here and across the country, long accustomed to dealing with service dogs for people with physical disabilities, are now contending with a new demand: animals that lend emotional support for the mentally disabled.

A lawsuit filed Oct. 1 by a University of Rochester student who wants to keep her dog on campus is just the latest example of a growing national phenomenon that has included similar cases involving cats, ferrets, snakes and even spiders.

School officials say inconsistent interpretations of federal laws designed to protect the civil rights of the disabled have left them with inadequate direction on how to address such requests.

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Tulsa World: ORU founder returns to defend school

Oral Roberts came to his namesake university for the first time in three years on Monday and told students and employees in a chapel service “the devil is not going to steal ORU.”

He said all allegations made in a lawsuit and an attached report are false. And he said Richard Roberts, who took a leave of absence as the school’s president last week, eventually will return to his position.

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