Lachtman v. Regents of University of Cal.

• Decision Date: 20 December 2007
• Docket Number: No. G037102.,G037102.
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: Shane LACHTMAN, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. The REGENTS OF The UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, Defendant and Respondent.

70 Cal.Rptr.3d 147

158 Cal.App.4th 187

Shane LACHTMAN, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. The REGENTS OF The UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, Defendant and Respondent.

No. G037102.

Court of Appeal, Fourth District.

December 20, 2007.

Law Offices of Micah Lachtman and Micah Lachtman, for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Paul, Plevin, Sullivan & Connaughton, Richard A. Paul and Kari D. Searles, San Diego, for Defendant and Respondent.

OPINION

FYBEL, J.

INTRODUCTION

Shane Lachtman entered the graduate program in the History Department of the University of California, Irvine (UCI) in the fall of 2001. After his first year Lachtman was informed of deficiencies in his academic performance and of certain requirements, including improvement in his writing, he needed to meet to advance to the Ph.D. program. In February 2003, three professors in the History Department evaluated Lachtman's writing, determined it had not improved and was not good enough for the Ph.D. program, and concluded Lachtman displayed limited interest in essential areas outside of his narrow field of academic interest. As a result, the History Department denied Shane Lachtman advancement to the department's Ph.D. program, and he ultimately received a master's degree.

Lachtman sued the Regents of the University of California (the University) contending the History Department's decision violated his due process rights. He also contended the University breached a contract employing him as a graduate student researcher and a contract awarding him a fellowship, and violated his privacy rights by allegedly disclosing his personal information. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the University.

United States Supreme Court decisions have long recognized "universities occupy a special niche in our constitutional tradition" and the "`freedom of a university to make its own judgments as to education includes the selection of its student body.'" (Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) 539 U.S. 306, 329, 123 S.Ct. 2325, 156 L.Ed.2d 304.) In keeping with these principles, judicial review of academic decisions, such as the one denying Lachtman advancement in the Ph.D. program, is a "narrow avenue" restrained by "[considerations of profound importance." (Regents of University of Michigan v. Ewing (1985) 474 U.S. 214, 225, 227, 106 S.Ct. 507, 88 L.Ed.2d 523 (Ewing).)

Procedural due process does not require a university to provide a student a formal hearing but is satisfied if the university informs the student of its dissatisfaction with the student's academic performance, it informs the student of the consequences of deficient performance, and a decision regarding the student's academic progress is careful and deliberate. (Board of Curators, Univ. of Mo. v. Horowitz (1978) 435 U.S. 78, 91-92, 98 S.Ct. 948, 55 L.Ed.2d 124 (Horowitz).) When reviewing an academic decision for substantive due process, courts should show "great respect for the faculty's professional judgment" and may not override a faculty's academic decision unless it is "such a substantial departure from accepted academic norms as to demonstrate that the person or committee responsible did not actually exercise professional judgment." (Ewing, supra, 474 U.S. at p. 225, 106 S.Ct. 507, fn. omitted.)

Under the undisputed facts, procedural and substantive due process standards were met in this case. Lachtman was given ample notice of the deficiencies in his academic performance, the consequences of those deficiencies, and an opportunity to improve. The decision denying him advancement in the Ph.D. program resulted from the careful and deliberate exercise of professional judgment by History Department faculty members. We cannot second-guess that exercise of professional judgment because the History Department's decision was based on the quality of Lachtman's writing and his limited area of academic interest—indisputably normal academic criteria—and because Lachtman failed to produce evidence of a triable issue of material fact.

The undisputed facts establish the University did not violate Lachtman's privacy rights or retaliate against him for exercising his right of free speech, the basis for two causes of action. Lachtman's contractual claims based on his employment as a graduate student researcher fail as a matter of law because public employment, including employment by the University of California, is held by statute, not contract, and Lachtman did not plead a statutory claim.

However, Lachtman asserted two separate contractual causes of action based on a diversity fellowship he received, and the University failed to meet its burden of showing the fellowship was not a contract or that it complied with the terms of the fellowship. For these reasons, we reverse summary judgment and remand with directions to enter an order granting summary adjudication of all but those two causes of action.

STATEMENT OF FACTS¹

The Ph.D. program in history at UCI typically takes a student seven years to complete. Before a student is formally admitted into the program, the UCI History Department performs a first-year review to evaluate the student's likelihood of successfully completing the program and receiving a Ph.D. After the first-year review, the History Department will take one of four actions: (1) formally admit the student into the doctoral program; (2) recommend the student not continue in the program and permit the student to voluntarily withdraw; (3) recommend the student not continue in the program and offer the student the opportunity to change his or her degree status to a terminal master's degree; or (4) recommend the student's disqualification from the program.

The UC Irvine Graduate Advisor's Handbook (the Handbook) sets minimum standards of academic progress for graduate students. The Handbook also specifies that grade point average alone is not enough to establish satisfactory progress toward a graduate degree: "Satisfactory progress is determined on the basis of both the student's recent academic record and overall performance.... [¶] ... [¶] ... Unsatisfactory academic progress may be determined on the basis of explicit requirements such as those outlined above. However, the professional judgment of the faculty, upon review of all graduate work undertaken by the student, is paramount."

Lachtman was accepted into UCI's graduate program in history, to begin study in the fall of 2001. A promising candidate with an impressive academic background, Lachtman received a "Diversity Fellowship award," (also called a graduate opportunity fellowship).² As a fellowship recipient, Lachtman was required to "remain in good academic standing during the tenure of the award."

Lachtman enrolled in History 260A, a required course for United States history graduate students, but attended only two class sessions before dropping it due to a disagreement with the instructor, Professor Sharon Block. After dropping the course, Lachtman received permission from the graduate program committee to substitute a comparable course at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

After a review was conducted of Lachtman's first year in the graduate program, the History Department advised Lachtman in June 2002 not to continue in the Ph.D. program. The History Department offered Lachtman the option of withdrawing from the program, or pursuing a terminal master's degree in lieu of a Ph.D. Lachtman disputed the results of the first-year review and notified the History Department he wanted to continue in the Ph.D. program. Lachtman also sought assistance from the UCI ombudsman, who intervened with the History Department at his request. In a letter dated October 28, 2002, the History Department renewed its recommendation that Lachtman pursue a terminal master's degree, but offered him another opportunity to pursue advancement to the Ph.D. program and identified the steps he would need to take to do so. Lachtman advised the History Department he wanted to remain in the Ph.D. program, but that he would not agree to all the conditions proposed in the History Department's October 28 letter.

In January 2003, the chair of the History Department's graduate program committee sent Lachtman another letter reiterating the steps he was "required to take in order to be re-considered for admission to the History department Ph.D. program." This letter reminded Lachtman he had completed only one of the requirements outlined in the October 28 letter, and granted him an extension to complete the remaining requirements.

Lachtman's grades for the fall quarter of 2002 and winter quarter of 2003 raised his cumulative grade point average to 3.577. He petitioned and was granted permission to substitute UCLA History 246A for UCI History 260A. He submitted two writing samples that were evaluated by three history professors. However, the three professors who reviewed Lachtman's writing samples concluded they did not provide "convincing evidence" Lachtman could perform competent work outside of his narrow field of interest and failed to demonstrate his writing had improved.

As a result, in February 2003, the History Department's graduate program committee unanimously agreed to deny Lachtman advancement to the Ph.D. program. The committee encouraged Lachtman to accept the previous offer to pursue a terminal master's degree; Lachtman ultimately accepted the offer and received his master's degree in July 2003.

In the summer of 2002, Lachtman applied for a position as a graduate student researcher with the University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI). Lachtman received the job offer on October 3, 2002, but the offer was withdrawn when the UCHRI was informed Lachtman was not a Ph.D. student. Lachtman's position as a graduate student researcher later was reinstated. His initial hire date was November 18, 2002 and official separation date was May 1, 2003. He performed work assigned to him in that position until at least March 2003.

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