After a week-long trial in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, a jury determined that Johns Hopkins University unlawfully retaliated against a Whiting School of Engineering professor, Rajesh Kumar, PhD, after he reported research misconduct to the university.
Lebau & Neuworth partner Stephen Lebau was the lead attorney representing Dr. Kumar in the case, Rajesh Kumar, PhD. v. Johns Hopkins University, which in the end set a precedent for safeguarding the principles of all academics in the State of Maryland.
The jury determined that JHU had breached its contract not to retaliate against a faculty member who lodged a complaint in good faith. In addition to the finding of unlawful retaliation, the jury found that Johns Hopkins University breached its contracts with Dr. Kumar to pay him required wages and benefits and wrongfully seized materials he had stored electronically on a JHU-hosted server.
The jury awarded Dr. Kumar nearly $50,000 in damages for withheld wages, damages to his electronically stored materials and the retaliation. Court costs were also assessed against Johns Hopkins. However, State of Maryland law did not allow an award of attorney’s fees incurred in the case.
Dr. Kumar said, “My case was about academic honesty and integrity, setting the correct precedent, and making sure what happened to me does not happen to anyone else in Maryland.” The case spanned more than a two-year period and involved large volumes of discovery as well as numerous depositions.
As displayed in this case, Lebau & Neuworth can be counted on to be faithfully devoted to protecting the rights of all workers in any workplace environment.
