The Sixth Circuit Court has overturned previous rulings in favor of Ohio State University (OSU) and professor Giorgio Rizzoni in a case brought by former Ph.D. student Meng Huang, who alleged sexual harassment and retaliation. The court found that key evidence had been improperly excluded from the trial, significantly prejudicing Huang’s claims.
Allegations of Harassment and Retaliation
Huang filed her lawsuit in 2018, accusing Rizzoni, her Ph.D. adviser, of sabotaging her doctoral candidacy after she rejected his romantic advances. She claimed that over three and a half years, Rizzoni subjected her to unwanted physical contact and, after she resisted, manipulated her Ph.D. examination process to ensure her failure. Rizzoni denied these allegations, asserting that Huang’s claims followed criticisms he made about her academic performance.
Improper Evidence Exclusion Leads to Reversal
In a split decision, the Sixth Circuit vacated both the summary judgment granted to OSU and the trial victory for Rizzoni. The court ruled that Huang’s case against OSU should have gone to a jury, as the lower court erred in treating Huang’s roles as a student and employee as mutually exclusive under Title VII. The panel emphasized that a student can also be considered an employee when academic and employment duties overlap.
