From Stubbs v. Gerken, decided today by Judge Sarah Merriam (D. Conn.):
Plaintiffs Sierra Stubbs and Gavin Jackson …, each of whom was a student at Yale Law School, bring this action alleging, in sum, that two deans of the Yale Law School, along with the Law School's Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, "worked together in an attempt to blackball" plaintiffs from the prestigious job opportunities that are often available to Yale Law School students and graduates….
For purposes of deciding the Motion to Dismiss, the Court presumes the following factual allegations set forth in the Second Amended Complaint to be true….
Events Leading to the "Dossier"
Stubbs and Jackson each first met Professor Amy Chua … when each was enrolled in Chua's International Business Transactions course. Chua "has served as an important mentor for her students, many of whom successfully obtain prestigious [judicial] clerkships." In September 2018, well before Stubbs and Jackson met Chua, Gerken, the current Dean of YLS, began "publicly criticizing Chua[.]"In "an email to all members of the [YLS] community[,]" Gerken expressed "'enormous concern'" about "'allegations of faculty misconduct' supposedly against Chua[.]" {The allegations against Chua included claims that she had "given advice on dress or appearance to [judicial] clerkship candidates preparing for interviews[.]"} It was "reported" that in 2019 "Chua had entered a 'no-socializing' agreement with the University whereby she agreed not to socialize with students off-campus."
In February 2021, plaintiffs "separately attended Zoom 'office hours' with Chua to discuss their coursework." These conversations "would also cover career discussions and any concerns that [plaintiffs] voiced about the University." Such concerns included those of Jackson, who "struggled with what he felt was a lack of institutional support for students of color, which ended with his frustrated resignation from the board of the Yale Law Journal." Jackson's resignation "received media coverage[,]" which "caused" him "to face significant hostility at the school." Chua was "in a unique position to offer [Jackson] guidance on these issues[,]" having been subject to "race-based, online instigated hostility, as well as being one of the few faculty members of color at" YLS.
