A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit between University of Wisconsin Chancellor John Wiley and one of his top administrators Monday.
The plaintiff, former Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Paul Barrows, filed the suit against Wiley and former Dean of Students Luoluo Hong Sept. 20. Barrows' suit against Hong was remanded to Dane County Circuit Court.
As Tuesday's judicial order noted, Barrows claimed in his suit that Wiley deprived him of a property right without due process.
Specifically, Barrows asserted that he should have been placed in his contractual backup position upon being removed as vice chancellor in November 2004. Instead, Wiley waited until June 2005 to actually reassign Barrows.
But according to U.S. District Judge John Shabaz, Barrows failed to show that placement in a backup position with no separation in service was entitled under state law.
Moreover, Shabaz wrote that Barrows additionally would had to have shown that he suffered some economic harm — an argument Shabaz labeled as "pure speculation."
Unless they suffer economic harm, he said, public employees who continue in employment are not deprived of due process. And in Barrows' case, Shabaz said he did not show he had any protected property interest if he were placed in his backup position.
"It is [Barrows'] burden to set forth clearly established law demonstrating that defendant Wiley failed to provide constitutionally required due process in the same or closely analogous situation," Shabaz wrote in the judicial order. "Plaintiff has failed to do so. Defendant Wiley was entitled to his reasonable belief that what he did was lawful. … Defendant Wiley is entitled to qualified immunity and his motion for summary judgment will be granted."
Lester Pines, Barrows' attorney, said he was unhappy with the judicial order and would not rule out an appeal.
"We're going to review it very carefully and we're going to decide whether or not we want to appeal it to the Court of Appeals," Pines said.
According to Pines, a decision on an appeal will be made in the next 10 days.
But Wiley's attorney, Jennifer Lattis, said she was not surprised with the judicial opinion and expressed gratitude that Shabaz "interpreted the law correctly."
Barrows filed the lawsuit precisely two days before UW released an internal investigation highly critical of his conduct as vice chancellor, including allegations of sexual misconduct. The report did not find grounds to dismiss Barrows, however, and since late September, he has worked in the Office of the Provost.
UW Communications Director Amy Toburen declined comment.
