Judge dismisses suit v. Yale Law alleging retaliation on students who refused to testify against Amy Chua
By Carl Samson
September 12, 2023
A federal judge dismissed a retaliation lawsuit by two Yale Law School (YLS) students against their dean and other administrators in connection with the investigation into Amy Chua, according to a report.
Background: Chua, one of the school’s professors — and known to the larger AAPI community as the “Tiger Mom” after her 2011 book — was accused in 2021 of inviting students to drunken dinner parties in her own home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chua immediately denied the allegations, saying that her social interactions with students were all about mentorship — including offering support amid the surge in anti-Asian violence.
“Because we could not meet in the law school building, we met at my house, and I did my best to support them and console them. One of the students had received death threats; another student was sobbing because of violence directed at her mother,” Chua wrote in part in a letter to colleagues.
Suit details: In November 2021, two YLS students sued the school, its Dean Heather Gerken, Associate Dean Ellen M. Cosgrove and Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Yaseen Eldik for allegedly retaliating against them after they refused to testify against Chua. According to the plaintiffs, the defendants threatened them to cooperate with their “apparent vendetta” against Chua and warned another professor against hiring them for a prestigious fellowship.
The plaintiffs are Asian and Black. They said they only met Chua to privately discuss the alienation they felt as minorities in school.
Dismissal: An amended complaint was recently filed after a judge dismissed the bulk of their claims in October 2022. On Monday, the case was completely tossed after the plaintiffs — along with the defendants — jointly requested a dismissal, according to Reuters.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer reportedly declined to comment on the dismissal. Neither Yale nor Chua has also addressed the matter, Reuters said.
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