An Onondaga County Supreme Court justice has upheld his decision to throw out an accounting professor’s lawsuit against Syracuse University and several of its current and former employees.

In a March 27 order, Supreme Court Justice Brian DeJoseph denied almost every one of accounting professor David Harris’ new motions with his lawsuit, including requests to suspend and reverse the judge’s previous decision. The newest ruling was not available until recently because it had not been filed in the county clerk’s office.

Harris, who’s now representing himself, filed his lawsuit against SU; former Chancellor Nancy Cantor, Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric Spina; former Martin J. Whitman School of Management dean Melvin Stith; associate accounting professor Susan Albring; and accounting professor Randal Elder in March 2013. DeJoseph threw out the suit Dec. 4, ruling Harris’ legal claims of defamation, breach of contract, retaliation, discrimination and intentional infliction of emotional distress did not stand. Oral arguments for the new motions in the case were heard Feb. 11.

Elder, Albring and Spina — through Senior Vice President for Public Affairs Kevin Quinn — declined to be interviewed. Harris and Stith did not return five phone calls and an email each. A spokesman for Rutgers-Newark did not return three calls and an email.

In the suit, Harris alleged he was shunned and retaliated against after bringing “excessively high” course grades and rigging in the tenure process to light. He was seeking various kinds of damages.

Then-chair of Whitman’s Joseph I. Lubin School of Accounting, Harris met with Albring on March 23, 2012 to discuss her four-year evaluation, according to the lawsuit. He brought up issues Albring needed to address to better her chances of getting tenure, such as an “excessively high grade point average” in her classes, the lawsuit states. Albring refused to sign her evaluation, the lawsuit alleges, and ran off, saying she was going to talk to then-Whitman senior associate dean Elder.

Elder and Harris met a few days later, but they ended up getting into an argument when Harris asked Elder if he had a conflict of interest because of a “personal relationship” with Albring, according to the lawsuit. The suit alleges that Elder then yelled for someone to call the police.

According to the lawsuit, Harris later met with then-Whitman dean Stith, who eventually said Harris’ position as accounting chair would not be renewed. On Oct. 1, 2012, Harris sent a formal complaint to Cantor and Spina, according to the lawsuit.

Motions that Harris filed asked DeJoseph to disqualify himself from the case because of bias. Harris also asked the justice to suspend the previous decision that threw out the lawsuit and to consider allegations of fraud.

DeJoseph said it’s a judge’s call whether to remove himself from a case and that Harris’ claim was “without merit.” The court ruled that Harris’ motion to suspend the decision to throw out the lawsuit was untimely. And there was no evidence to “entertain” Harris’ allegations there was evidence to charge the defendants or their lawyer with perjury — something he argued should reverse the previous decision — the order stated.

Harris alleged the opposing side “factually misstated” things that were in his complaint — something that played a significant role in the lawsuit being thrown out.

But the opposing lawyer, Tom D’Antonio, said Harris’ full complaint was presented in court. D’Antonio said it appeared Harris’ “modus operandi” was to attack everyone who disagrees with him, according to a transcript of the oral arguments.

The court did not award money or sanction either party. But DeJoseph wrote the court would not hear any more matters that have been repeated in the past or are “simply frivolous.”

It is unclear if Harris will pursue an appeal. This semester, he’s teaching ACC 385/685: “Principles of Taxation,” according to MySlice.

Published on April 5, 2014 at 4:12 pm

Contact Dylan: dmsegelb@syr.edu | @dylan_segelbaum