No Sanctions Against Prof. Francesca Gino Over Libel Claim Against Data Colada

From today's order by Judge Myong J. Joun (D. Mass.) in Gino v. President & Fellows of Harvard College:

The Data Colada Defendants request sanctions based on Gino's defamation claims, which alleged that the Defendants falsely accused her of data fabrication in four academic studies. Gino's suit followed an investigation by Harvard University, which concluded that the data in the studies were altered in ways that aligned with the authors' hypotheses. The investigation relied on forensic analysis and original datasets. In response, Gino alleged that she was unfairly targeted by a campaign of harassment orchestrated by the Defendants in coordination with Harvard.

Gino's own admissions during the Harvard investigation—including her acknowledgment that the posted datasets were inconsistent with originals, and her concession that she had no explanation for the discrepancies—undermine the premise of her later-filed defamation complaint. As the Defendants correctly note, it is not defamation to publish statements that are true or substantially true. In their motion, the Defendants provide extensive excerpts from the Harvard report and Gino's responses that show she acknowledged the presence of data alteration, even if she denied responsibility for it. Plaintiff's opposition does not meaningfully rebut the central facts. Rather, it attempts to relitigate the credibility of the Harvard investigation and the intentions of the Defendants.

Still, while it is true that federal courts possess inherent power to sanction bad-faith conduct, it is also true that that power must be exercised with restraint and only where it is clear a party has acted in bad faith, vexatiously, or for oppressive reasons. Here, Gino's defamation claims against the Data Colada Defendants were weak indeed; however, that does not necessarily equate to bad faith, vexatious, or oppressive….

Comments

[Jett's Pop]

Does anyone know if Data Colada tried to invoke the Massachusetts anti-SLAPP statute at any point?

[Eric Rasmusen]

One cannot sue a plaintiff for defamation because of intentional falsehoods in the complaint. This creates the opportunity to freely defame people using litigation. On the other hand, intentional falsehoods in a complaint are supposed to be penalized by the court, aren't they, by federal rule 11 or by contempt?

[Alkali]

It's hard to imagine a more clearly sanctionable abuse of judicial process than this case.

[[e-mail]]

The Data Colada Defendants seek sanctions over Gino’s weak defamation claims, which followed a Harvard investigation confirming data manipulation. Gino admitted inconsistencies and lacked explanations, undermining her case. While the claims may appear baseless, courts apply sanctions only for clear bad faith. Just like Popeyes Menu Prices Canada https://popeyesmenupricescanada.com/ relies on accuracy for trust, truth protects against defamation.

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