Madej v. Yale Univ.
| Decision Date | 15 January 2021 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL CASE NO. 3:20-cv-133 (JCH) |
| Parties | JAKUB MADEJ Plaintiff, v. YALE UNIVERSITY, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut |
Plaintiff, Jakub Madej ("Madej"), proceeding pro se, brings this action against Yale University ("Yale") and several of its administrators (collectively, "the defendants"). See Proposed Second Am. Compl. ("Second Am. Compl.") (Doc. No. 170); Order (Doc. No. 176 (). In his Second Amended Complaint, Madej asserts claims for fraudulent misrepresentation, fraud, breach of contract, negligence, and tortious interference with contract or economic expectation, all in connection with his withdrawal from Yale. See Second Am. Compl. ¶¶ 48-112. Before the court is the defendants' Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint in its entirety. See Defs.' Mot. to Dismiss ( ) (Doc. No. 185). Madej opposes this Motion. See Pl.'s Mem. of in [sic] Opp'n to Defs.' Mot. to Dismiss ("Pl.'s Opp'n") (Doc. No. 208).
For the reasons explained below, the court grants the defendants' Motion and dismisses the Second Amended Complaint with prejudice.
Madej, who was born in Poland, enrolled at Yale College (a part of Yale University, and also referred to as "Yale" in this Ruling) as an undergraduate student in 2016. Second Am. Compl. ¶¶ 10, 12. Madej completed 29 course credits at Yale over the course of seven semesters, nine short of the 36 credits required for graduation. Id.
In the Spring 2019 semester, Madej initially enrolled in five courses. Id. ¶ 21. However, he dropped three of those courses in order to "fully concentrate" on his consulting business. Id. In March 2019, before Madej dropped his third course (changing his course load from three to two), he contacted Michelle Tracey ("Tracey"), an assistant to Madej's Dean of College, to inquire whether dropping the course would impact Madej's ability to graduate. Id. ¶ 18. Tracey "answered in the negative" and "caus[ed]" Madej to file a form requesting withdrawal from the course. Id. Madej's Dean of College, Jesse Royce Hill ("Hill"), processed the withdrawal. Id. ¶ 19.
In October 2019, midway through the Fall 2019 semester, Yale's Registrar Office contacted Madej to inform him that he had enrolled in a course that required prior registration, without having completed such registration. Id. ¶ 22. Through this communication, Madej "inadvertently learned" that his reduced course load of two courses in the Spring 2019 semester had automatically triggered his placement on "academic warning" status. Id. ¶ 20. Hill and Dean for Academic Affairs at Yale College Mark Schenker ("Schenker") would later state that Hill sent a letter to Madej in May 2019, informing him of his academic warning status, but Hill ultimately admitted that the letter had not been sent at that time. See id. ¶ 24. The approval of a student's Dean ofCollege is required before a student's course load may drop to fewer than three credits for a semester. Id. ¶ 25.
According to Madej, if he had been notified of his academic warning status when he reduced his course load during the Spring 2019 semester, he would have enrolled in a half-semester course or decided against dropping one of the three courses he dropped during the Spring 2019 semester. Id. ¶ 23. Madej had previously completed three such "short courses." Id.
Also in October 2019, Madej was hospitalized with a serious wrist injury. Id. ¶ 27. He underwent a successful surgery approximately three weeks later, which was followed by a recovery period of roughly four to five weeks. Id. ¶ 29. Madej was given a "dean's excuse," which allowed him extra time to complete certain assignments. Id. However, despite submitting paperwork to Yale's Resource Office on Disabilities, Madej did not receive any additional academic accommodations, such as extra time for exams or permission to type exams. Id. ¶ 30.
In addition to his wrist surgery, Madej also received treatment for depression twice while enrolled at Yale. Id. ¶ 16. His treatment has included medication for depression and attention deficit disorder, which he has taken "since early 2018, without interruption." Id.
In December 2019, at the conclusion of the Fall 2019 semester, Madej traveled to China. Id. ¶ 33. While Madej was in China, one of his professors emailed him informing Madej that the professor could not open the file Madej submitted as a final report for a course. Id. ¶ 34. However, Madej's access to his email account wasblocked while he was in China. Id. ¶ 34. As a result, Madej did not read the email from his professor until Madej returned to the United States on January 1, 2020. Id. ¶ 35.
A few days later, Madej received a failing grade for that course. Id. Madej's professor suggested that he might reassess Madej's grade at the request of Hill, but Hill did not respond when Madej reached out to her. Id. ¶ 36.
On January 3, 2020, Madej received a letter dated January 2, 2020, informing him of his withdrawal from Yale. Id. ¶ 37. The letter did not include any information about how to challenge the withdrawal or regarding whom Madej should contact with questions. Id. ¶ 38. As an international student with an F-1 visa, Madej was required to leave the United States within 15 days of his withdrawal date. Id. ¶ 37.
Madej sought to speak with Hill over the phone, but she was not available to speak until three days later. Id. ¶ 40. Prior to their conversation, Hill did not provide Madej with any information about whether he could appeal the withdrawal. Id. ¶ 39. When Madej and Hill spoke over the phone, Hill told Madej that he could file a petition with the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing ("CHAS"). Id. ¶ 40. Hill did not provide Madej with any details regarding CHAS. Id.
Despite not receiving guidance concerning how to petition CHAS, Madej submitted a 6,200-word petition to Hill via email. Id. ¶¶ 41, 43. Hill told Madej that she forwarded the petition to CHAS. Id. ¶ 43. Madej also asked three people to write letters on his behalf to CHAS. Id. ¶ 42.
On January 12, 2020, Madej returned to New Haven after attending research conferences in San Diego and Las Vegas. Id. ¶ 44. The next morning, Madej attempted to retrieve his personal property from a dormitory. Id. ¶ 45. Previously, at theend of the Fall 2019 semester, Madej had "notified" Yale staff that he would be leaving property in the dormitory; he "hoped" that he would be given a full day to retrieve his belongings. Id. While Madej was back in New Haven, Hill refused to meet with or speak with him. Id. ¶ 47.
On January 15, 2020, Schenker sent Madej a letter representing that CHAS had met on January 13, 2020, and voted unanimously to reject Madej's petition. Id. ¶ 52. At the time, Madej "was in an employment contract" with a Yale professor and "received a regular compensation from this contract." Id. ¶ 107.
In a letter and emails sent on January 7, 15, and 19, 2020, Schenker told Madej that the other members of CHAS included faculty, administrators, and students. Id. ¶ 53. Schenker also told Madej that the members of CHAS had received copies of Madej's petition, an email and letter from Yale administrators, and Madej's academic record, and that the members had deliberated prior to their vote. Id. ¶¶ 54-55.
According to Madej, these statements were all false, because Schenker knew "that [CHAS] did not meet on January 13, or at any other time, with regards to Madej's petition"; that CHAS "ha[d] been an alter ego of [ ] Schenker since at least [ ] 2015"; "that the Committee did not have any real members, and no documents were provided to any purported 'member'"; "that no voting, or a similar formal indication of choice, took place"; and "that the Committee ha[d] not adopted any written policies establishing the way in which Committee members render a final decision at any time." Id. ¶¶ 52-55. In other words, CHAS "is indistinguishable from Schenker himself, and existed only on paper to create a perception that an adjudicative body made a decision on the merits of the case presented to it when, in fact, [CHAS] has never existed." Id. ¶ 56. Schenkerknew all this "because he chaired [CHAS] continuously since academic year 1998, and has been the only person acting on its behalf." Id. ¶ 60. According to Madej, Schenker lied in order to frustrate Madej's ability to contest his withdrawal or seek legal remedies. Id. ¶¶ 64, 75, 77-78.
Certain statements published by Yale concerning CHAS sought "to engineer a false perception of meaningful decision-making" and thereby buttressed Schenker's false statements. Id. ¶ 68. These include statements "that matters related but not limited to withdrawals from Yale College were considered and adjudicated by [CHAS], a deliberative body within Yale College"; and that CHAS convenes "about twice a month during the regular academic year", as well as a webpage listing the purported members of CHAS. Id. ¶¶ 69-71. Further, Yale "did not implement any procedures or policies to provide procedural safeguards to student[s] who have been in the process of being involuntarily withdrawn from Yale." Id. ¶ 83.
Madej filed his initial Complaint on January 30, 2020. See Compl. (Doc. No. 1). He moved for a preliminary injunction and for a temporary restraining order on February 23 and March 4, 2020, respectively. See Emergency Mot. for Prelim. Inj. (Doc. No. 19); Mot. for Ex Parte Temporary Restraining Order (Doc. No. 28). The court denied Madej's Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order during a telephonic conference on March 5, 2020. See Min. Entry (Doc. No. 33). Following consideration of the parties' arguments and exhibits, the court issued a Ruling denying Madej's Motion for a Preliminary Injunction on March 31, 2020. See Ruling on Mot. for Prelim. Inj. ( ) (Doc. No. 64).
Madej filed his...
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