Long Island University Post’s vice president for academic affairs has been sued by his former employer, Mercy College, which says that he used confidential information to poach students for LIU.
Evidence disclosed in the civil suit, filed in August in Supreme Court in Westchester County, includes emails in which the college official, Edward Weis, transferred lists of students to his personal AOL email account.
It also includes a text message conversation the assistant dean of LIU Brooklyn’s School of Business, Chuck Garcia, had with one student he reached out to about attending LIU. Garcia previously taught at Mercy College’s business honors program.
At Mercy College, Weis was business school dean and had access to confidential information about students in its business honors program, according to the lawsuit.
The college hosts a summer Leadership Academy for high school students, and many participants are later offered admission to the business honors program. The lawsuit says that 42 students registered for the program for the current academic year by May 1, and within three months nine had informed Mercy College that they had instead decided to attend LIU.
On April 2, 2018, Weis received an email at his AOL address with the subject line “High SAT Students.” Much of the email is redacted in the evidence filing, but it reveals a section of a chart that lists the students’ home states.
That information was confidential, the lawsuit says. It was among a series of confidential documents Weis downloaded on his home computer in May, it says.
Garcia texted two of the students on the “High SAT” list and offered them a larger scholarship than Mercy College, according to the lawsuit. The text message conversation submitted as evidence reveals tactics he used in contacting one student.
First, he invited the student for a phone appointment.
“Since we have not met, I welcome the opportunity to chat and discuss your personal and professional goals,” Garcia wrote.
The two scheduled a phone call for June 28, and on July 5 the student wrote the following:
“I appreciate your offer of travels but I am going to attend Mercy at least for this first semester. I hope to still stay in contact in case Mercy is not what I think it is come end of Semester one.”
Garcia responded, “I respect your decision. Just a heads up. You are eligible for a close to full scholarship if you enter as a freshman. If you transfer in later that will be substantially diminished.”
On July 11, Mercy College President Timothy Hall emailed Weis, informing him that he would look into potential legal action.
“I take it the only academic references you ever expect to use in any future context are those you might have from LIU,” Hall wrote. “That’s your decision – though I think it is foolish.”
Weis and LIU are defendants in the suit.
Mercy College has four campuses: Dobbs Ferry, Manhattan, Bronx and Yorktown Heights. LIU has two: LIU Post in Greenvale and LIU Brooklyn.
Through the lawsuit, Mercy College demands injunctive relief and cites damages it says the defendant caused through breaches of loyalty, contract interference and unfair competition.
LIU’s attorney requested the complaint’s dismissal on Jan. 8, and Weis’ attorney Hayley Dryer did the same last November.
“Plaintiff suffered no actual damages by reason of any of Weis’ alleged acts,” she wrote.
Remedies Mercy College requests include at least $700,000 for the diversion of the nine students, which it says caused economic harm of an amount yet to be determined, and at least $700,000 for using confidential information to do so.
Efforts to reach lawyers for the colleges and Weis were unavailing.
