Case Western Reserve University Law School Dean Lawrence Mitchell was been accused of sexual harassment. Law Professor Raymond Ku filed a suit against the dean and the university alleging that Dean Mitchell sexually harassed women, and that when he blew the whistle, the dean and the university retaliated against him.
The suit has saucy allegations of improper sexual conduct, including propositioning students for threesomes and other sexual misconduct. According to Cleveland.com, “Professor Ku said that he personally observed various situations that were inappropriate and sexual in nature. His suit “includes about 40 examples” of that misconduct.
Now Dean Mitchell and Case Western University Law School are seeking to have parts of the civil complaint filed against them removed from the records, as they are “immaterial, impertinent and scandalous.”
On Thursday Dean Mitchell’s attorney, Steven Kaufman filed an emergency motion that asked Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Peter Corrigan to delete the scandalous allegations in the complaint as they “go far beyond the scope of the claim of wrongful employment retaliation.”
Kaufman’s motion was quoted as saying, “Despite the limited nature of Ku’s claims in this case, Ku and his counsel use the complaint and amended complaint as a guise to level a series of repulsive, repugnant and scandalous assertions against Dean Mitchell that have absolutely no bearing on the claims in this case.”
At the George Washington School of Law, Case’s Dean Mitchell was a professor. At the GW school of law, Mitchell allegedly had a sexual relationship with a student. That may not have any bearing on the current case against Dean Mitchell, but it certainly doesn’t add any benefit to his situation as it currently stands.
Dean Mitchell’s attorney, Steve Kaufman considers that Professor Ku really just wants to embarrass the dean as well as the law school, in a revenge plot to compensate for Ku’s not having won the deanship position that he coveted. Kaufman continues in his memorandum to say that Ku is actually just disappointed in his life and wants a “distraction from his own unsatisfactory performance” at the law school.
Case Western Reserve University Law School commented that there was no retaliation on whistleblower Ku, and that the lawsuit “included inaccuracies.” Dean Mitchell has taken a leave of absence, and is on paid leave.
Professor Ku’s attorney, Subodh Chandra comments, “It’s understandable that Mr. Mitchell now wants assertions regarding his own behavior hidden from scrutiny, but all he’s doing is now highlighting them. All allegations in the amended complaint have good-faith factual basis and are relevant to the lawsuit. We will respond accordingly with the Court.”
Image Credit: Twitter, Case.edu