Former professor files $3 million lawsuit

Former professor files $3 million lawsuit

Subject of harassment investigation sues for negligence,
defamation

By Kimberly Mackesy

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

A former visiting Chicana/o studies professor who has been the
subject of a university sexual harassment investigation has filed a
$3 million lawsuit alleging that he is the victim of false
accusations and a prolonged administrative process that has damaged
his reputation.

Philip Garcia, who taught in the Chicana/o studies department in
winter 1993, is seeking damages from the University of California
Regents, UCLA, the students’ association, the students’
association’s Communications Board and the Daily Bruin.

"It’s clear to me that Professor Garcia has now gone on the
offensive to (clear) his name and reputation and to seek
compensation for (alleged) damages," said Joe Mandel, UCLA’s vice
chancellor of legal affairs.

Garcia’s lawsuit alleges defamation, negligence, intentional
infliction of emotional distress, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty
and invasion of right to privacy.

"Each and every factual statement of misconduct is entirely
false, specious and otherwise patently baseless," the lawsuit
claims, "and thereby defamatory on its face."

Although the lawsuit was filed in June 1995, the defendants were
not served within the 60-day time limit. The Daily Bruin and the
regents were both served Friday, while some defendants were served
after Monday’s court hearing.

"(The suit) was served on Friday because we had hoped to resolve
(the case) in its entirety through the administrative procedures of
the university," said Aaron Weitzman of Novian, Novian &
Younesi, the firm representing Garcia.

As a result of the delay, during Monday’s status conference,
Judge David Perez scheduled an Order to Show Cause hearing for
April 10, during which he will decide whether to impose sanctions
against Garcia’s attorneys. Possible penalties range from fines to
throwing the case out of court.

Allegations of sexual misconduct on Garcia’s part first arose in
early 1993, when several Chicana/o studies students filed
complaints. Garcia maintains that the university did not notify him
at the time the allegations came to the university’s attention.

An internal university investigation commenced in May 1993. In
June 1993, labor relations manager Sandra Rich sent a letter to
students who were in Garcia’s class, asking them to recount any
instances of misconduct they may have witnessed.

In November 1994, the university issued a formal complaint
against Garcia, which, according to the lawsuit, "allege(d) sexual
harassment in the form of ‘leering, staring and physical
touching.’" The lawsuit also claims that UCLA made no attempts to
arrange mediation with Garcia regarding the matter.

The sexual misconduct allegations were first brought to public
attention on June 1, 1994, when a group of Chicana/o studies
students held a press conference protesting the faculty recruitment
process for the Cesar Chavez Center for Interdisciplinary
Studies.

Several alleged victims spoke with The Bruin in 1994, despite
being advised by the university not to discuss the matter. They
alleged that Garcia engaged in sexual misconduct in the form of
touching and lewd comments, and that Garcia had raped a student in
his office. The Bruin published an article about these allegations
in June 1994. Garcia has repeatedly denied all allegations.

Timothy Alger, legal advisor to The Bruin, said that Garcia, by
naming the newspaper as a defendant, was attempting to muzzle news
coverage of the sexual misconduct allegations against him.

"The lawsuit’s vague claim that The Bruin, by informing the
university community of the misconduct allegation, somehow defamed
or otherwise injured him is clearly baseless," Alger said. "I have
been assured that the university intends to zealously and
unqualifiedly defend The Bruin and the Communications Board, as
well as defend itself against the lawsuit’s claims."

In December 1995 – approximately 31 months after the
investigation began – The Bruin sent the university a request under
the California Public Records Act for the investigation
results.

In a letter dated Jan. 16, campus counsel Patricia Jasper
refused to release any records relating to Garcia because the
matter is "still under investigation by the university."

The long delay in resolving the allegations against Garcia has
raised concerns about the university’s sexual harassment complaint
resolution process. But some officials contend that setting a time
limit for the resolution of sexual harassment investigations would
not be feasible.

"In the nature of things, it’s a long and drawn-out process …
I can only say that in every case we try to move it along as
quickly as we can," said Norman Abrams, vice chancellor of academic
personnel.

Mandel agreed, claiming that unduly speeding up the
investigation process would tilt the scales in favor of the
accusers.

"There is no litmus text for a reasonable (time frame)," Mandel
said. "People’s lives are depending on the result of this
investigation, and it’s not something they would like rushed
through."

A committee of Academic Senate members and administrators is
currently preparing a report on UCLA’s sexual harassment policy.
The findings will include recommendations on faculty disciplinary
procedures and will "propose some time limits on the process,"
Abrams said.

"I think the fact that we are trying to revise the whole process
of complaint resolution indicates that it’s not just myself, but
that the university feels that this can often take an extra long
period of time and isn’t really fair to anybody," said Academic
Senate Chair Charles Lewis.

"Anything that takes that long and goes bouncing from one group
to another and has to be reviewed on more than one occasion or two
seems to be overly bureaucratic," Lewis continued.

Abrams explained that the committee’s recommendations may or may
not be adopted by the university, but said he believes it would be
in UCLA’s best interests to do so.Comments to
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