BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - A Boston University law professor is fighting discipline he received after, he says, a Chinese student misheard a comment he made to a Thai student.
Adjunct professor Jerrold Neeff says he was wrongfully suspended from a position he held for 16 years and filed suit March 3 in Suffolk County Civil Court. He also seeks damages for negligence, defamation and invasion of privacy.
Neeff was to teach two courses in the Fall 2021 semester - Entertainment Law and IP in the Digital Age. But on Sept. 20, he was placed on administrative leave after complaints about his professionalism in the IP class were received.
Despite positive feedback from some students, an investigation asked 13 of 25 students their thoughts. All of them were visiting students from China, he said, who complained he talked too fast to be understood.
Chaoyi Hou, who is named as a defendant, claimed Neeff asked a student "Are you from Thailand? I have friends from Thailand. I can tell by your face,'" the suit says.
Neeff says the actual comment was "Are you from Thailand? I recognize the spelling of your name. Welcome to the class."
The clarity of his voice might have been muffled by the face mask he was required to wear. Another student complained he seemed unprepared because Neeff kept referring to his textbook, but Neeff says he had no textbook with him.
"Overall, it became clear that there was a major problem with the Chinese students' lack of proficiency in class," the suit says.
Chinese students struggle with English and have not been taught the basic principles of American law, Neeff says.
"When discussing a case, it is common for a Chinese student to interrupt the class and ask very basic questions, such as, what is discovery? What is a trial court? What is Summary Judgment or a Motion to Dismiss? What is a Complaint," the suit says.
Neeff says the investigation was not conducted thoroughly enough and that BU did not meet standard industry practice in it. His lawsuit names Hou as a defendant, charging her with defamation.
Neeff, of the Bostonian Law Group, is representing himself.