UNB asks Oklahoma court to dismiss lawsuit by alumnus turned Republican senator
Doug Mastriano suing UNB, alleging it leaked his PhD and conspired to discredit his thesis
The University of New Brunswick says a lawsuit launched against it by an alumnus turned U.S. politician contains "disorganized and speculative allegations" and should be thrown out entirely.
The university's motion comes in response to a lawsuit by Pennsylvania Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano, whose doctoral thesis on American First World War hero Alvin C. York was widely criticized by academics after the university released it publicly despite his requests to have it kept under wraps.
Mastriano's lawsuit alleges UNB and several named academics conspired in a scheme to discredit his work and deprive him of commercial gain he would have enjoyed through book deals, movie deals and speaking gigs based on the doctoral thesis that earned him his PhD from the university.
However, UNB, in a motion filed last month, says Mastriano's lawsuit should be dismissed on the grounds that the Oklahoma court in which he filed the suit lacks jurisdiction over the university and the named co-defendants, including president Paul Mazerolle.
"This is a dispute over academic protocol that should be resolved by an educational committee but instead has been dressed up as an international conspiracy," says the motion, filed by lawyers representing the university.
Lawyers for Mastriano have since filed a counter-motion arguing the court does have jurisdiction to litigate the case against UNB and the other named defendants.
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
Book prompted calls for thesis release
Mastriano is a retired U.S. Army colonel who in May 2019 was elected a state senator for Pennsylvania's 33rd district.
Known for his socially conservative views, he rose to national prominence for his support for former president Donald Trump and the debunked conspiracy theory that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was rigged in favour of President Joe Biden.
With Trump's endorsement, Mastriano ran in 2022 for governor of Pennsylvania but was defeated by Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro.
In 2013, Mastriano received his PhD from UNB, with his thesis focusing on York, who achieved fame for killing 25 Germans on a battlefield in France. York's heroics inspired a Hollywood movie, with actor Gary Cooper in the lead role.
A year later, Mastriano used his thesis as the template for a book he published, even while his thesis remained under wraps, thanks to an unusually lengthy embargo on its release.
That didn't stop other academics, however, from questioning claims in the book, prompting calls for UNB to release his thesis publicly.
In 2022, UNB published the thesis, against Mastriano's request to keep it under embargo until 2030.
Since its release, several academics have said it contains fabricated footnotes and unsubstantiated claims, prompting the university in 2023 to appoint a committee to investigate the allegations of academic fraud.
Under UNB policy, the investigation committee was required to submit its recommendations to the university within 60 days, but any findings the committee might have reached have not been released to the public.
Lawsuit undermines free speech, says academic
Another named defendant in the lawsuit is James Gregory Jr., an American academic who filed the formal complaint that led to the university's investigation into Mastriano's alleged academic misconduct.
Lawyers representing him have also filed a motion asking for parts of the lawsuit against him to be dismissed, arguing they run up against free speech protections afforded in the Constitution of the United States.
"The First Amendment demands that even the most powerful engage their critics in the marketplace of ideas — not the courts," say his lawyers, who are with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
"Plaintiff Doug Mastriano, a prominent Pennsylvania politician, has dragged a historical debate into this court, suing his critics for defamation and a wild assortment of claims."
Gregory is a PhD student who also took a focus on the story of York's heroics, and had originally relied on details in Mastriano's book for an article he wrote.
But after he published his article, other scholars raised issues with parts of it that tied back to Mastriano's book, prompting him to push UNB to release Mastriano's thesis.
Once it was released, Gregory said he found more than 200 issues, ranging from fictitious citations to unsubstantiated claims, which he included in his 2022 complaint to UNB.
To now be getting sued by Mastriano for doing so runs "completely counter" to the principles of academic discourse and freedom of speech, and could set a troubling precedent, he said.
"This suit, it feels like a [case of] shut up or shell out, you know... and I think that's ridiculous. That's not how academic discourse works," Gregory said.
Gregory's motion asks that the court dismiss all counts against him, award him the attorney's fees he incurred and "sanction" Mastriano for bringing the lawsuit.
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