German v. Rubin, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-118-17)
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS MIDDLESEX, ss. SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL ACTION NO. 16-01640 GUSTAVO GERMAN vs. LEE L. RUBIN & others1 MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER ON PLAINTIFF’S EMERGENCY MOTION FOR AN ORDER DISALLOWING ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS INTRODUCTION The pro se plaintiff, Gustavo German (“German”), obtained a harassment prevention order, pursuant to G.L. c. 258E, on August 25, 2016. The most recent revision of that order was issued on December 5, 2016. See Paper No. 78. Before this court is German’s Emergency Motion for an Order Disallowing Lee L. Rubin and/or Any Employee at Harvard Corporation to Initiate Administrative Proceedings Against Plaintiff without Leave of Court (“Motion”). For the reasons below, the Motion is ALLOWED nunc pro tunc to May 4, 2017. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND The Motion was filed on an emergency basis on May 4, 2017, after German was put on notice that administrative proceedings were underway, which could lead to his ultimate removal from Harvard as a Ph.D. candidate. President & Fellows of Harvard College (“Harvard”) and Lee L. Rubin (“Rubin”) filed a response and opposition to the Motion on May 11, 2017. Harvard filed a written request for hearing, but did not call the court to obtain a hearing on an expedited basis. A flurry of additional motions and oppositions were filed in the two weeks following May 10, 2017 David Lopes Cardozo and President & Fellows of Harvard College This court relies not only on the facts recited in the Motion, but also those al 2 leged in German’s Verified Complaint for Civil Contempt (Paper No. 124). 2 related to Harvard’s withdrawal of German, and a hearing was held on all such motions on May 30, 2017. As concerns the instant Motion, following the hearing, this court declined to act, writing a margin order that states, “This Court was first alerted by the RAJ on 5/30/17 to participate in the hearing scheduled for 5/30/17, by which time Harvard had already acted. No action taken at this time.” The action to which the order referred was Harvard’s withdrawal of German from the university on May 16, 2017. This court now takes up German’s Motion. FACTUAL BACKGROUND2 On December 5, 2016, this court issued its most recent revision of the harassment prevention order in this case. See Paper No. 78 (“Order”). It provided, in relevant part, that German was to “immediately be fully restored to and remain in his position and research in the Rubin Lab,” and that “German shall remain working in the Rubin Lab, supervised by [] Dr. Rubin.” See id. at pars. 2, 3. On March 2, 2017, German’s program advisors requested that German hold a Dissertation Advisory Committee (“DAC”) meeting. On March 3, 2017, German agreed to hold […]