School lost prof’s notebooks – should it have to pay?
May 4, 2010 by Taylor HanniganPosted in: From the Courts, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
Some notebooks went missing after a school had a professor’s lab and office cleaned. Did a jury award him too much?
In 1998, officials at the University of Texas at San Antonio told chemistry professor Philip Stotter that he needed to tidy up his lab and office space because they posed a safety hazard.
More than two years later, Stotter hadn’t cleaned up his act to the school’s satisfaction. That’s when a university provost ordered a cleanup of his lab and office.
Stotter said the cleaning was a little too thorough. He claimed that it resulted in the loss of some of his research notebooks. He sued the provost and the school, claiming he’d been deprived of his property without due process.
A jury awarded him $175,000, but an appeals court nullified the verdict. Stotter didn’t show that he had a protectable property interest in the notebooks, the appeals court said.
Cite: Stotter v. University of Texas at San Antonio.
Should the university have compensated the professor for the loss? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
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Tags: professors, property rights, University of Texas at San Antonio
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May 5th, 2010 at 10:49 am
The University should have tossed it into storage for awhile. They should not have thrown out his research.
May 5th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Sorry, but I have been on the other side of this. At times, professors keep their offices in such a state that it is impossible to tell what is their research, and what is not. I have had to order a professor to clean up her office and workspace, and after a year of attempting to work with her, offering her assistance or even paid leave to work on cleaning up her workspace, and much more, and still meeting with obstinate refusal, we called the workplace health and safety inspectors, who declared the space a very dangerous safety and fire hazard. We also sent in a team of people to clean and organize the space. The office posed a danger to other employees, who had to use portions of the space, and had to climb stacks of boxes to reach material. Little was thrown out, though some materials that had been of great value had been damaged beyond repair or recovery, and had to be discarded, to my great sorrow. Now we are working on another such situation. HR has supported me completely on this. All that faculty are guaranteed at our institution is access to a desk and phone. The space is not theirs to do with as they please, and if, after multiple warnings, this professor refused to clean up the space, then it is his tough luck if he’s lost the research. He has no one to blame but himself. College space cannot be allowed to become hazardous because of faculty obstinacy – and yes, I’m faculty myself.
May 5th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
The school did the right thing. He should have backed up his data if it was that important.
May 5th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
He was told in advance to clean up his lab and office. He had two years to clean it up but refused not to do so, which was his choice. He should have been fired for not cooperating with the school because it as a safety hazard. The school did the right thing and NO!!!! they should not have been fired. I hope the school fired him after he sued and they should have made Philip Stotter pay for the cleaning fee. Every body is ready to sue at the drop of a hat. Anything to get money…..Greed!