Sign Up

NCLA Site Search

Cases

Vengalattore v. Cornell University

Back to Case Finder

CASE: Dr. Mukund Vengalattore v. Cornell University

STATUS: Closed

NCLA ROLE: Counsel

COURTS HEARD IN: 2nd Cir., N.D. NY

ORIGINAL COURT: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York

DECIDING COURT: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

OPENED: September 18, 2018

AGENCIES: Department of Education

FOCUS AREAS:

Due Process Violations

The due process of law guarantees a right to be held to account only through the processes of an impartial court—something administrative tribunals violate every day.

Guidance Abuse

Agency guidance is easier to promulgate than formal rules and regulations, so agencies prefer to issue it. Such “guidance” supplies relatively informal indications of how an agency interprets rules and statutes. Although guidance is not permitted to bind Americans (unlike laws made by elected legislators), agencies treat guidance as binding and courts often fail to stop them.

CASE SUMMARY

Dr. Mukund Vengalattore was a tenure-track professor of physics at Cornell University with an impressive history of conducting ground-breaking research. After a graduate student left his program for academic reasons, the student made various untruthful allegations against him.

Following mandatory “guidance” from the U.S. Department of Education, Cornell had set up a campus disciplinary process that dispensed with every fundamental notion of due process. Dr. Vengalattore was not allowed to see the accusations against him, much less challenge the “evidence” collected by the college, provide evidence of his innocence, confront his accuser, or even defend himself at a hearing.

Unable to prove his innocence in this unfair process, Dr. Vengalattore was denied tenure, disciplined by Cornell, and faced the loss of his promising career. NCLA sued Cornell for its violations of due process, but also the Department of Education for forcing Cornell to adopt such an unfair process.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York initially dismissed the lawsuit. Dr. Vengalattore and NCLA persevered, appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. That court partially reversed the dismissal, leaving the Department of Education out of the case but allowing the case to proceed against Cornell. Following discovery and the district court’s denial of Cornell’s motion for summary judgment, the parties reached a favorable settlement.

OUR CLIENT

Dr. Mukund Vengalattore, Plaintiff

OUR TEAM

Mark Chenoweth
President and Chief Legal Officer
Casey Norman
Litigation Counsel
Zhonette Brown
General Counsel and Senior Litigation Counsel
Kaitlyn Schiraldi
Staff Attorney

RELEVANT MATERIALS

NCLA FILINGS

Decision and Order

September 10, 2024 | Read More

Plaintiff's Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Cornell University's Motion for Summary Judgement

March 13, 2024 | Read More

Answer to Second Amended Complaint

October 7, 2022 | Read More

Second Amended Complaint

September 23, 2022 | Read More

Opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

June 2, 2022 | Read More

SEE 15 FILINGS
PRESS RELEASES

NCLA Secures Favorable Resolution in Physics Professor’s Title IX Case Against Cornell University

February 6, 2025 | Read More

NCLA Secures Trial in Ex-Professor’s Case Against Cornell’s Title IX Kangaroo Court

September 10, 2024 | Read More

NCLA Demands Trial to Prove Ex-Professor’s Case Against Cornell’s Title IX Kangaroo Court

March 14, 2024 | Read More

NCLA Wins Appeal: Second Cir. Rejects Cornell’s Effort to Strip Due Process Rights from Faculty in Title IX Hearing

June 2, 2022 | Read More

NCLA Releases Case Video Showing How Cornell’s Title IX Kangaroo Courts Ruin Lives

April 2, 2021 | Read More

SEE 10 PRESS RELEASES
IN THE MEDIA

Title IX: A shield for all or a weapon against the accused?

NCLA Blog

March 20, 2024

The Changes to Title IX Policy, Harriet Hageman

WYRD-FM

February 7, 2023

New Civil Liberties Alliance Files Amicus Brief in Second Circuit Against Cornell Effort to Discriminate Against Male Faculty

Instapundit

February 7, 2023

Kruckenberg: Accused Means Guilty in College Kangaroo Courts

September 27, 2021

CASE HIGHLIGHTS

RELATED CASES
  • Adir International v. Starr Indemnity and Liability Company

    Due Process Violations

    The due process of law guarantees a right to be held to account only through the processes of an impartial court—something administrative tribunals violate every day.

    Case Closed -

    Agencies: California

    View Case
  • American Home Furnishings Alliance, et al. v. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

    Due Process Violations

    The due process of law guarantees a right to be held to account only through the processes of an impartial court—something administrative tribunals violate every day.

    Scope of Authority / Nondelegation

    The structure of the Constitution allows only Congress to legislate, only the Executive to enforce laws, and only the Judiciary to decide cases. But the Administrative State evades the Constitution’s avenues of governance when executive agencies issue regulations without statutory authorization from Congress.

    Case Closed - June 30, 2023

    Agencies: Consumer Product Safety Commission

    View Case
  • American Honda Motor Co., Inc. v. Walther, Dir., and Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration

    Judicial Deference

    Deference doctrines require judges to defer to an administrative agency’s fact finding, or its interpretation of statutes and regulations. Thus, judges surrender their independent judgment and, where the government is a party, must exhibit systematic bias in the government’s favor, which denies due process of law to the other litigant.

    Due Process Violations

    The due process of law guarantees a right to be held to account only through the processes of an impartial court—something administrative tribunals violate every day.

    Case Closed -

    Agencies: Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration

    View Case
  • American Hospital Association, et al. v. Xavier Becerra, et al.

    Judicial Deference

    Deference doctrines require judges to defer to an administrative agency’s fact finding, or its interpretation of statutes and regulations. Thus, judges surrender their independent judgment and, where the government is a party, must exhibit systematic bias in the government’s favor, which denies due process of law to the other litigant.

    Due Process Violations

    The due process of law guarantees a right to be held to account only through the processes of an impartial court—something administrative tribunals violate every day.

    Scope of Authority / Nondelegation

    The structure of the Constitution allows only Congress to legislate, only the Executive to enforce laws, and only the Judiciary to decide cases. But the Administrative State evades the Constitution’s avenues of governance when executive agencies issue regulations without statutory authorization from Congress.

    Case Closed - June 15, 2022

    Agencies: Department of Health and Human Services

    View Case
  • American Securities Association and Citadel Securities LLC v. United States Securities and Exchange Commission

    Due Process Violations

    The due process of law guarantees a right to be held to account only through the processes of an impartial court—something administrative tribunals violate every day.

    Scope of Authority / Nondelegation

    The structure of the Constitution allows only Congress to legislate, only the Executive to enforce laws, and only the Judiciary to decide cases. But the Administrative State evades the Constitution’s avenues of governance when executive agencies issue regulations without statutory authorization from Congress.

    Administrative Speech Controls

    The Administrative State tries to squelch speech, especially through licensing, speech bans, and speech mandates. Licensing requires one to get the government’s permission prior to speaking. Nothing was more clearly forbidden by the First Amendment than prior restraints on speech, but such controls are now commonplace.

    Unreasonable Searches

    The Fourth Amendment forbids warrantless searches and seizures of information, yet the Administrative State violates this right to privacy through administrative subpoenas and warrants, automated information collection devices, civil investigative demands, and “voluntary” requests for information.

    Conditions on Spending

    Administrative agencies use unconstitutional conditions on spending to regulate the conduct of grantees. Rather than rule through law, the government simply purchases submission.

    Case Active - February 15, 2024

    Agencies: Securities and Exchange Commission

    View Case
  • AMG Capital Management, LLC v. FTC and FTC v. Credit Bureau Center, LLC

    Due Process Violations

    The due process of law guarantees a right to be held to account only through the processes of an impartial court—something administrative tribunals violate every day.

    Scope of Authority / Nondelegation

    The structure of the Constitution allows only Congress to legislate, only the Executive to enforce laws, and only the Judiciary to decide cases. But the Administrative State evades the Constitution’s avenues of governance when executive agencies issue regulations without statutory authorization from Congress.

    Case Closed -

    Agencies: Federal Trade Commission

    View Case

SHARE THIS CASE

Enter your email address above to be notified whenever we post a new document to this case.