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Labor & Employment

Two Law Profs Settle Whistle-Blower Suit Against Ave Maria

Posted Jul 17, 2009 6:27 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Two law professors have settled a lawsuit that claims they were denied tenure at Ave Maria School of Law in retaliation for their complaints.

Lawyer Deborah Gordon told NaplesNews.com that law professors Ed Lyons and Phil Pucillo “have agreed to a settlement, which does involve their obtaining tenure in part,” although the lawyers won’t continue to work for the school.

The professors had sued Ave Maria and its leaders in October, claiming they were disciplined for opposing the school’s move from Michigan to Florida and for reporting or preparing to report suspected violations of laws and regulations. The complaint alleged the violations involved “the independence of the corporate form,” breach of fiduciary duty and conflicts of interest.

Ave Maria had maintained the professors didn’t want to see the school relocate and had magnified academic freedom and governance issues. In court papers, the school maintained the professors were ministerial employees, making the Catholic institution exempt from their legal claims.

A third plaintiff, Steve Safranek, continues to press his suit against the school, according to the story at NaplesNews.com. A tenured law professor, Safranek was fired two years ago.

Comments

1.

M. Minden
Jul 17, 2009 9:04 AM CST

A hollow “victory” They can claim “I was a tenured professor” - and then they will have to explain that the institution was forced to grant them tenure and that they never once exercised the office or had the responsibilities of a tenured professor. And then they will explain why it was a good thing to have tenure at a school they have helped to viciously malign and paint as third rate in every way? The good news is that other potential employers will forever be aware that these two professors are rabble-rousing trouble makers who are easily led along to take extreme actions by more senior svengali/pied-piper faculty.

Has anyone looked into whether the plaintiffs’ legal team are violating both the criminal laws and bar ethics rules by listing themselves on their firm website as admitted/licensed in states where their bar memberships have lopng since lapsed?

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2.

George Patsourakos
Jul 17, 2009 11:41 AM CST

The case of two law professors settling a lawsuit that claimed they were denied tenure at Ave Maria School of Law in retaliation for their complaints is mind-boggling.

I find the fact that the two professors were granted tenure, but will not continue to work for the School, an odd agreement. Why do they need tenure, if they will no longer work at Ave Maria?

I also find it odd that this Catholic institution argued in court that these two law professors were “ministerial employees” and thus Ave Maria was exempt from their legal claims. Does this mean that Ave Maria is above the law?

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3.

Hal Topfer
Jul 17, 2009 12:10 PM CST

No, it means that you use the legal arguments at your deisposal - espcially when defending against nuisance lawsuits.

The only reason this lawsuit was filed was to try to prevent the law school from relocating to its current, new location in Florida. In that regard, the lawsuit has been an utter failure.

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4.

B. McLeod
Jul 18, 2009 9:47 AM CST

Yes.  The church always uses all the arguments (legal and otherwise) at its deisposal.  “Deisposal” also describes the fate of these professors.  I suppose God is done with them now.  Maybe they will be excommunicated for their temerity.

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