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FKSA Successfully Defends Columbia Against Claims of Former Graduate Student
On appeal to the Appellate Division, First Department, FKSA partner Robert D. Kaplan successfully defended the dismissal of claims against Columbia University by a former doctoral student. The plaintiff had alleged, among other things, that the University had terminated his teaching assistantship in violation of his contract with the University, and wrongfully barred him from taking Ph.D.-level courses based on his failure to pass what the plaintiff said was an unfair Qualifying Exam. He sought damages as compensation for earnings he claimed to have lost because of his inability to obtain his Ph.D. The Appellate Division explained that, although the plaintiff purported to assert claims for breach of contract and fraud, a university's academic judgments can be reviewed only to determine if they were arbitrary, capricious, or in bad faith, and only in a special proceeding brought under CPLR Article 78. Because the student's claims were barred by Article 78's four-month statute of limitations, the Appellate Division upheld the order of the lower court granting the University's motion to dismiss. |
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©2012 FKSA
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