Huang v. Rector & Visitors of the Univ. of Virginia
| Decision Date | 19 December 2011 |
| Docket Number | CASE No. 3:11-cv-00050 |
| Parties | WEIHUA HUANG, Plaintiff, v. THE RECTOR AND VISITORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, ET AL., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Virginia |
This action arises out of the employment relationship between Defendant Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia ("UVa") and Plaintiff Weihua Huang ("Dr. Huang"). Dr. Huang originally filed his complaint in this matter on August 3, 2011 (docket no. 1). On October 7, 2011, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss (docket no. 3). After securing the consent of both Defendants and the Court, Dr. Huang filed an amended complaint on November 4, 2011 (docket no. 19). The purpose of the amended complaint was to clarify against whom the various counts contained within the complaint were asserted, and to add an additional count. This matter is now before the Court on Defendants' amended motion to dismiss, which was filed on November 18, 2011 (docket no. 20). For the reasons that follow, I will grant in part and deny in part Defendants' motion.
The factual allegations of the amended complaint, which the Court must accept as true, are as follows. In 1999, Dr. Huang began a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Tennessee in the Department of Pharmacology. While there, Defendant Ming Li ("Dr. Li") was assigned as Dr. Huang's "supervisor and mentor." In 2005, both Dr. Huang and Dr. Litransferred to UVa and began working there in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences under its chairman, Defendant Bankole Johnson ("Dr. Johnson"). In 2007, Dr. Huang was promoted from research associate to assistant professor. Following this promotion, Dr. Huang made attempts to become an independent researcher so that he might conduct his own self-guided research. In 2008, Dr. Huang applied for a National Institutes of Health ("NIH") grant to fund a proposed research project called "Functional Characterization of ANKK1 and its Genetic Variants" (the "ANKK1 project"). Dr. Huang secured the approval of Dr. Li and Dr. Johnson, and NIH eventually approved the project for a period from June 15, 2009 through February 28, 2011. For the ANKK1 project, Dr. Huang was to serve as the sole "principal investigator" or "PI." Dr. Huang proposed to allocate fifty percent (50%) of his time, referred to as level of effort, to the ANKK1 project, and listed Dr. Li's supervisory effort as five percent (5%) of effort.1
On or about September 4, 2009, approximately three months after the commencement of the ANKK1 project, Dr. Huang contacted Dr. Johnson to express his concern that he had not been receiving monthly status reports for the project, and that perhaps someone else might have taken over control of the grant account. On or about September 29, 2009, Dr. Huang finally received from Dr. Li the monthly status reports for July and August 2009. According to Dr. Huang, Dr. Li had changed the levels of effort charged to the ANKK1 project without Dr. Huang's authorization. Specifically, Dr. Li had assigned fifty percent (50%) of the time of lab technician Nicole Gautier ("Ms. Gautier") to the ANKK1 project, had increased his own level from five to seven and a half percent (7.5%), and had increased Dr. Huang's level of effort from fifty to seventy-five percent (75%). These changes did not, according to Dr. Huang, reflect thework that was actually being conducted on the ANKK1 project (particularly since Ms. Gautier had not worked on the project at all). Moreover, the alterations would allow Dr. Li to devote his and Ms. Gautier's time to other research projects, but draw money from the ANKK1 project to pay unrelated salaries and expenses. Further, these changes were unauthorized; Dr. Huang was the principal investigator with "responsibility to allocate, alter, and approve any level of effort charged to the project account," and yet he had not approved the changes. Am. Compl. ¶ 38.
In light of his belief that Dr. Li's actions represented a misappropriation of funds in violation of the False Claims Act, Dr. Huang reported the unauthorized modifications to Dr. Johnson and Gregory Benham ("Mr. Benham"), the Chief Operating Officer of the Department, on or about October 12, 2009. Although they did not acknowledge that Dr. Li's actions were inappropriate or unlawful, Dr. Johnson and Mr. Benham assured Dr. Huang that the changes would be readjusted and any money that had been withdrawn would be refunded. According to Dr. Huang, throughout the remainder of his employment with UVa, the withdrawn money was never refunded.
On or about November 20, 2009, Dr. Huang received a notice of nonrenewal from Dr. Johnson and Dr. Li, informing him that UVa would not be renewing his employment contract, which was set to expire one year later in November 2010. The notice stated: Am. Compl. ¶ 45. The notice of nonrenewal was also accompanied by restrictive conditions on Dr. Huang's employment.2 According to Dr. Huang, these restrictions effectively breached Defendants' commitment to NIH to provide himfeatured resources and adequate space. For example, in or about December 2009, new locks were placed on Dr. Li's laboratory, preventing Dr. Huang from accessing equipment and facilities necessary for conducting research under the ANKK1 grant. Additionally, Dr. Huang was not provided with sufficient alternative space, facilities, or equipment, thus hampering his research.
On or about February 18, 2010, NIH notified Dr. Huang that it was extending grant funding for the ANKK1 project through February 2011. At the same time, Dr. Huang was informed that he was facing possible disciplinary actions up to and including termination as a result of his lack of compliance with the notice of nonrenewal. In response, Dr. Huang filed a grievance with the Faculty Senate Grievance Committee ("FSGC"). Dr. Huang reported the aforementioned facts to the FSGC, requested that Dr. Li's conduct be investigated, and sought a guarantee of no further retaliation. The FSGC accepted Dr. Huang's grievance on or about March 23, 2010.
However, on or about May 14, 2010, Sharon Hostler ("Dr. Hostler"), the Senior Associate Dean of the School of Medicine, gave Dr. Huang written notification that he would be placed on administrative leave with pay, effective immediately. In addition to reiterating the claims of noncompliance with the notice of nonrenewal, the notification of suspension included further accusations that Dr. Huang had taken Dr. Li's equipment without permission and that Dr. Huang had attempted to pass off Dr. Li's data as his own. Dr. Huang denied these claims. On or about June 13, 2010, Dr. Huang filed a formal compliance complaint with the Corporate Compliance & Privacy Office. In response, Dr. Hostler recommended to the Provost of UVa that Dr. Huang be terminated. Upon the Provost's request, the Faculty Senate organized a Faculty Senate Peer Review Panel ("FSPRP") to review the proposed termination of Dr. Huang. On orabout August 25, 2010, the FSPRP issued an eleven-page report, concluding that "the possibility that Dr. Huang's nonrenewal was at least in part an act of retaliation cannot be ruled out definitively" and that "the University has not met its burden in justifying termination." Additionally, the FSPRP recommended that the School of Medicine make every effort to enable Dr. Huang to complete his grant.
Upon reviewing the FSPRP report, the FSGC submitted its final report to the President of UVa on or about September 3, 2010. The FSGC report acknowledged that Dr. Li's assigning Ms. Gautier to the ANKK1 project was a "serious breach of University policy." Am. Compl. ¶ 69. Thereafter, the Provost permitted Dr. Huang to remain on administrative leave through November 2010. However, after not hearing anything from the President of UVa regarding his allegations of retaliation, Dr. Huang filed a grievance appeal with the Board of Visitors on or about October 31, 2010. Subsequently, on or about November 17, 2010, UVa offered to extend Dr. Huang's employment contract by one year. Because UVa had not addressed Dr. Li's wrongful actions or whether the actions taken against him were retaliatory, Dr. Huang declined the employment extension offer, fearing that further retaliation would ensue. Ultimately, on or about February 28, 2011, the Board of Visitors declined to grant Dr. Huang's grievance appeal. On or about May 19, 2011, UVa closed out the ANKK1 project.
In his amended complaint, Dr. Huang brings claims under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3730(h) ("FCA"), the Civil Rights Act of 1871, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ("§ 1983"), the Fraud and Abuse Whistle Blower Protection Act, Va. Code § 2.2-3009, et seq. ("FAWBPA"), and common law breach of contract. Generally, Dr. Huang alleges that Defendants retaliated against him for making disclosures about the the fraudulent misappropriation of public funds by Dr. Li, and that these disclosures were protected by the FCA and the FAWBPA. Additionally, Dr.Huang alleges that Defendants retaliated against him for exercising his constitutional free speech right to speak out on a matter of public concern. Dr. Huang also alleges that Defendants failed and refused to perform their obligations under the NIH grant contract. Dr. Huang seeks economic and compensatory damages, equitable relief (including but not limited to reinstatement), and attorney's fees.
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), Defendant UVa has moved for dismissal of all claims against it. Defendants Dr. Li and Dr. Johnson have similarly moved to dismiss all claims asserted against them in their official capacities. And all Defendants have moved to...
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