Michigan Dental School student awarded 1.7 million dollars for arbitrary dismissal
A dental school student who was dismissed from the school after her third year was awarded 1.7 million dollars by a Federal Court jury yesterday. She claimed that the dismissal was arbitrary and resulted from a school administrator using her as a pawn in a dispute with two faculty members. Apparently the jury agreed. One million dollars of the award was for punitive damages.
The student's attorney was one of the best employment attorneys in the country, Deborah Gordon. Her client had been accepted into 8 different dental schools when she chose Michigan, and had maintained a "B" average until she became involved in a dispute between the Dean and two professors. She was unable to gain acceptance at another dental school after Michigan discharged her. The case is Zwick v. University of Michigan.