University of Melbourne professors’ in Supreme Court defamation fight
Two top University of Melbourne scholars are doing battle in the Supreme Court after one claimed his colleague of 28 years had damaged his reputation in the academic community and demanded an apology.
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A defamation stoush between two leading scholars from one of the country’s most prestigious universities has landed in the Supreme Court.
University of Melbourne mathematics professor James Sader is suing chemistry professor Paul Mulvaney for allegedly implying his contributions to an Australian research centre were “inadequate” and “lacking”.
Prof Sader is demanding an apology from his colleague of 28 years, who he claims attempted to oust him from the centre for excellence shortly after allegedly damaging his reputation in the academic community.
In a Supreme Court statement of claim obtained by the Herald Sun, Prof Sader alleges Prof Mulvaney said he “lacked synergy” with other fellows at the research centre, implied his publication contributions were “deficient” and criticised his visiting appointments at international universities including the California Institute of Technology.
The comments were allegedly made during two February meetings at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science — an association of leading international researchers — where Prof Mulvaney is a director.
Prof Sader, who is one of 14 “chief investigators” at the centre, was not present at the first meeting but was made aware of the comments after minutes were distributed.
“(Prof Sader) needs a position in the leadership structure. He hasn’t had many joint publications and this could help to create more synergy between him and others in the centre,” the minutes state. Taking issue with the comments, Prof Sader emailed Prof Mulvaney to set the record straight and outlined his recent collaborative discussions with other members. He claimed the comments amounted to open performance management without prior notice.
The next month, Prof Mulvaney “devised, released and published new roles and responsibilities” for chief investigators, which were then used to attempt to discharge Prof Sader from the centre — a move which was communicated to his employer, the University of Melbourne, according to court documents.
“The communication of the attempted dismissal was defamatory, or alternatively had defamatory imputations,” court documents state.
Prof Sader is seeking aggravated damages and costs. He did not respond to the Herald Sun.
Prof Mulvaney declined to comment.
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