Mucci v. Rutgers
| Decision Date | 03 March 2011 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. 08-4806 (RBK) |
| Parties | RIA MUCCI, Plaintiff, v. RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY SCHOOL OF LAW- CAMDEN, XYZ CORPORTATION 1-5 (a fictitious corporation), Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
This matter arises out of Defendant Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey School of Law-Camden's ("Rutgers") dismissal of Plaintiff Ria Mucci from law school in 2002. Rutgers dismissed Plaintiff for failure to maintain the required minimum grade-point average ("GPA"). Plaintiff claims that Rutgers dismissed her and subsequently denied her numerous petitions for readmission in violation of her Fourteenth Amendment due processes rights and in breach of an implied state-law agreement between students and universities. Plaintiff also asserts state and federal disability discrimination claims based on Rutgers' alleged failure to provide her with reasonable testing accommodations, and claims for fraud and detrimental reliance stemming from a course she audited in 2007. This matter is presently before the Court pursuant to Rutgers' motion for summary judgment dismissing Plaintiffs claims. For the reasons discussed below, the Court grants Rutgers' motion for summary judgment.
Plaintiff enrolled as a full-time, first year law student at Rutgers in the fall of 1997. She struggled academically at various times while enrolled at Rutgers and was ultimately dismissed in June 2002 for failure to obtain a satisfactory GPA. She submitted petitions requesting readmission in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008, but Rutgers denied all six requests.
A student's academic performance at Rutgers is governed by the law school's Academic Rules and Regulations (the "Academic Regulations"). Rule 11.3 of the Academic Regulations provides that a "student shall be considered to be on warning if the student fails to earn a 2.0 average for the first semester of an academic year, " and "[a]t the end of the next semester of enrollment, the student shall be reclassified as either in good standing or as dismissed." ). Rule 11.4(a) provides that a "student who earns less than a 2.0 average in an academic year shall be dismissed." (Id.). If a student is dismissed under Rule 11.4, he has a right to be automatically readmitted on probation if: (1) "the student's average during the academic year for which the student was dismissed was 1.75 or better;" and (2) "the student has not previously earned less than a 2.0 average for a year." (Liat 24). A student who does not satisfy those requirements for automatic readmission "may be readmitted only by petitioning the Committee on Scholastic Standing for re-admission on probation." (Id.). Rule 14 provides the following standard and procedures for deciding petitions for readmission:
The Committee may grant such a petition if it finds that the student has demonstrated sufficient potential so that if re-admitted there would be a substantial likelihood that the student would satisfactorily complete his or her law studies. In addition, the Committee may in its discretion, consider whether and to what extent the student has complied with the Rules and Regulations of the law school. In deciding whether to grant such a petition,... the Committee shall consider all relevant facts shown by thestudent or otherwise presented to it. Relevant facts include those that bear on the student's aptitude, motivation for legal studies, or work habits, on any circumstances that have interfered with the student's performance in law school, on means that were available for ameliorating such circumstances, and on the likelihood that such circumstances will not exist in the future. The Committee may also consider the student's performance at the law school and in previous education, as well as the student's work history. The student has the burden of demonstrating all facts necessary to support a petition for re-admission.
(Id.). The Committee on Scholastic Standing ("CSS") is composed of four faculty members appointed by the Dean and one student member in good academic standing appointed by the Student Bar Association.
The CSS does not have jurisdiction to decide issues of academic integrity. Those issues are governed by the law school's Code of Student Conduct, which provides comprehensive procedures for disposition of charges of academic dishonesty. When a charge is filed against a student, the Dean of Students must conduct a preliminary review to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for the charge to proceed to a hearing. Substantiated charges are disposed of by a hearing before a board of faculty members and students, with a hearing officer presiding. The hearing officer is usually an independent outside attorney.
Plaintiff performed poorly during her first semester in the Fall of 1997. She received a D+ in all four of her classes and a term GPA well below 2.0. Pursuant to Rule 11.3, the CSS notified her that she was "on warning" because of her grades and that unless she achieved a 2.0 average by the end of the academic year, she would be dismissed and lose all credit for the year. Due to Plaintiff's poor performance, which she attributed to certain personal problems relating to her health and divorce/custody proceedings, Sybil James, then Dean of Students, and Professor Oren, the CSS chair, counseled her to apply for a leave of absence. In February 1998, Plaintiff applied for a leave of absence, and the CSS granted Plaintiff's request.
In May 1998, Plaintiff petitioned the CSS for readmission to Rutgers in the Fall of 1998. The CSS held a hearing in July 1998. After the hearing, the CSS determined that Plaintiff was still embroiled in her matrimonial proceedings and that the problems associated with her matrimonial situation continued to impose a substantial burden on her. The CSS therefore denied Plaintiff's petition for readmission in the Fall of 1998 and recommended that Plaintiff use the year to resolve her divorce proceedings.
In May 1999, Plaintiff petitioned the CSS for readmission in the Fall of 1999. After a hearing, the CSS granted Plaintiff's petition subject to certain conditions. The CSS placed Plaintiff "on warning" for the academic year and required Plaintiff to retake the entire first-year curriculum. The CSS also required Plaintiff to meet regularly with the then-Director of the Academic Success Program, Susan Williams-Lewonski.
Near the end of the Fall 1999 semester, Ms. Williams-Lewonski sent Professor Oren an email expressing concern regarding Plaintiff's performance. She reported that Plaintiff was consistently late to meetings, was not keeping up with class work and attendance, and was not taking responsibility for her studies. She concluded that Plaintiff "was so far behind in her school work that it's silly." (Oren Cert. Ex. E, at 2).
Plaintiff obtained a 2.643 average for the Fall 1999 semester, but received a D+ in Legal Research and Writing. In the Spring 2000 semester, Plaintiff initially received an F in Property and a 1.571 average for the semester, which gave her a 2.107 cumulative average for the year.
Because Plaintiff barely achieved the 2.0 average necessary to return to academic "good standing, " the CSS notified Plaintiff that her "performance this year, while meeting our minimum requirements, indicates the need for further improvement...." (Oren Cert. Ex. G). Plaintiff's Property grade was subsequently changed to a D, raising her cumulative average to 2.250.
Plaintiff took Professional Responsibility during the Summer 2000 semester and received a C. During the Fall 2000 semester, Plaintiff achieved a 2.25 term average but received an F in Employment Discrimination Law.1 During the Spring 2001 semester, Plaintiff obtained a 2.938 average and received grades ranging from a C to a B+. Consequently, she remained in academic "good standing" throughout the year. Plaintiff took three courses during the Summer 2001 semester and performed well, obtaining a term average of 3.438, including an A in Elder Law.
Plaintiff's academic performance deteriorated dramatically during her third year. In the Fall 2001 semester, her term average was 1.693, including two D's in Federal Income Tax and Patent Law I. Because her term average was below 2.0, the CSS placed her "on warning" pursuant to Rule 11. The CSS informed her that pursuant to the Academic Regulations she would be dismissed from Rutgers if she did not achieve a 2.0 average for the academic year. The CSS advised Plaintiff that its members were willing to counsel her regarding her studies and impressed upon Plaintiff that her future in the legal profession was at stake. Plaintiff met with Dean James in February 2002 to discuss her "on warning" status. However, her academic performance did not improve during the Spring 2002 semester. Her average for the semester was 1.434, including an F in Law and Biomedical Ethics. Her GPA for the year was 1.580.
The parties dispute the basis for Plaintiff's F in Law and Biomedical Ethics. Professor David M. Frankford graded the course based on a single final take-home exam. The exam included two questions. One question was a "policy" question and the other was an "issue-spotting" question. The exam instructions stated that students were to do no research for the examination after it was distributed. The exam was graded on an anonymous basis using blind grading numbers. When Professor Frankford initially graded the exams, he became suspicious of an exam answer that contained passages that read like articles in medical journals but did not attribute the content of those passages to any outside sources and did...
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