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FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF BRONX
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ROHMA MIRZA,
Petitioner-Plaintiff,
against
HYBRID ARTICLE 78 PETITION
AND COMPLAINT
COLLEGE OF MOUNT SAINT VINCENT
BOARD OF TRUSTEES, SUSAN R. BURNS, President,
LYNNE A. BONGIOVANNI, Ph.D.,
DAVID LICHTENSTEIN, M.D.,
ANTHONY J. GAROFALO, SONDRA MIDDLETON,
AND TSUI YUEN,
Defendants-Respondents.
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Plaintiff ROHMA MIRZA, by her attorneys, Michael Diederich, Jr. and the Diederich Law
Office, complains of the Defendants as follows:
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT
1. This is an hybrid Article 78 proceeding and action at law for injunctive and
declaratory relief and damages against Defendants College of Mount Saint Vincent (“CMSV”),
its Board of Trustees, Susan R. Burns, its president, Lynne A. Bongiovanni, Ph.D., its provost
and dean, David Lichtenstein, M.D., its Physician Assistant Program medical director, and
Anthony J. Garofalo and Sondra Middleton, both professors (altogether “Defendants”),
challenging Defendant CMSV’s expulsion of Plaintiff Rohma Mirza from its Physician
Assistants Program (“PA Program”) purportedly because she mistakenly used an acronym “PA-
C”. Plaintiff was expelled for using this acronym—an acronym neither recognized nor
authorized by New York law-- after her typewritten name on a letter of recommendation written
for a friend. “PA-C” could mean “Physician Assistant-Candidate,” and as a third semester
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physician assistant student, Plaintiff might understandably (and certainly forgivably) make a
mistake regarding acronym usage.
2. CMSV students commonly use the acronym “PA-S” in correspondence—and CMVS
facilitates and encourages this. Yet such usage is arguably a violation of New York criminal law
as being a misrepresentation of the status of CMSV students, 1 as “PA-S” could easily be
interpreted, for example, as “physician assistant-supervisor.” Thus, CMSV’s draconian
punishment of Plaintiff of an innocent mistake when CMSV itself is ignoring N.Y.S. statute is
essentially the “pot calling the kettle black.”
3. As set forth below, the actual motivation for Plaintiff’s expulsion from the CMSV PA
Program was not the typographical error--something that neither caused nor risked any harm.
That reason was pretextual and a sham. Instead, the motivation was unlawful religious and
national origin bias against a young woman born to Pakistani parents doing her best to make
them proud as upstanding naturalized U.S. citizens by advancing her education in pursuit of her
goal of becoming a skilled healthcare practitioner in New York City.
4. Plaintiff’s career and life aspirations will be destroyed absent corrective action by this
Court, which this Court can provide because her expulsion from the PA Program was arbitrary,
capricious, unreasonable and an abuse of discretion, and thus redressable under both CPLR
Article 78 proceeding and various anti-discrimination statutes.
5. The Court is requested to provide mandamus relief, in the form of an affirmative
injunction reinstating Plaintiff to the CMSV PA Program, with ancillary relief.
1
Under New York State law, only a person licensed as a physician assistant by the N.Y.S. Department of
Education may use the title “physician assistant” or “P.A.” after his or her name. See, N.Y.S. Education
Law § 6543.
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6. Additionally, because the Defendants’ actions interfered with and breached Plaintiff’s
educational contract with CMSV, and its adverse action motivated by unlawful discrimination
and reprisal based upon Plaintiff’s ethnicity, national origin, religion and race, Plaintiff seeks
damages available under state and federal laws.
THE PARTIES
7. Plaintiff Rohma Mirza (hereinafter “Plaintiff”) is a resident of Staten Island, in the
County of Richmond, City of New York, State of New York.
8. Defendant College of Mount Saint Vincent, also known as the University of Mount
Saint Vincent, upon information and belief, is and at all times relevant herein was a non-profit
corporation licensed and authorized to do business under the laws of the State of New York.
9. Defendant CMSV, upon information and belief, receives federal funding.
10. Upon information and belief, the Defendant Board of Trustees of CMSV is its final
policymaking and governing body.
11. Upon information and belief, at all times relevant herein, Defendant Susan R. Burns
(U.S.-born, non-Muslim) was affiliated with, as an agent or employee of, CMSV, holding the
position of President.
12. Upon information and belief, at all times relevant herein, Defendant Dr. Lynne
Bongiovanni (U.S.-born, non-Muslim) was affiliated with, as an agent or employee of, CMSV,
holding the position of Provost and Dean of the College.
13. Upon information and belief, Defendant Dr. David Lichtenstein (U.S.-born, non-
Muslim) is a physician licensed to practice medicine in the State of New York, and is, and was at
all times relevant hereto, affiliated with, as an agent or employee of, CMSV, and serves as the
medical director of the PA Program.
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14. Upon information and belief, Defendant Anthony Garofalo (U.S.-born, Italian-
American, non-Muslim) is a physician assistant and is licensed to practice as such in the State of
New York, and at all times relevant herein was affiliated with, as an agent or employee of,
CMSV. He is sued in his individual capacity as an “aider and abettor” to unlawful discrimination
and conspiracy.
15. Upon information and belief, Defendant Sondra Middleton (U.S.-born, African
American, non-Muslim) is a physician assistant and is licensed to practice as such in the State of
New York, and at all times relevant herein, Defendant, was affiliated with, as an agent or
employee of, CMSV. She is sued in her individual capacity as an “aider and abettor” to unlawful
discrimination and as a conspirator.
16. Upon information and belief, Defendant Tsui Yuen (Chinese-American woman, non-
Muslim) is a physician assistant and is licensed to practice as such in the State of New York, and
at all times relevant herein, Defendant, was affiliated with, as an agent or employee of, CMSV.
She is sued in her individual capacity as an “aider and abettor” to unlawful discrimination and as
a conspirator.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE ALLEGATIONS
17. Both this court and the federal courts have concurrent jurisdiction over the federal
claims asserted in this action under inter alia, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq., 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1985
and 1986, and under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and § 1343(4), as well as Plaintiff’s state law claims.
18. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to C.P.L.R. Article 78 to review the actions by
bodies or officers (including of corporations) who have failed to perform a duty enjoined upon
them by law and/or are acting arbitrarily, capriciously or are abusing their discretion.
19. This Court also has jurisdiction pursuant to C.P.L.R. § 3001 to the extent that
declaratory relief is appropriate herein.
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20. The principal situs of the acts complained of occurred in Bronx County, in the State
of New York.
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
A. Overview
21. Plaintiff Rohma Mirza has pursued a dream of becoming a physician assistant.
Toward this end, she and her parents have invested a large amount of personal funds and
Plaintiff a large time investment in academic and clinical study.
22. Plaintiff’s dream has been destroyed, absent corrective action by this Court because
of apparent racial, ethnic, national origin, and religious bias that caused the Defendants to
conclude that the inadvertent insertion of the initials “PA-C” after her typewritten name in a
letter of recommendation for a friend—with no motive or intent to misrepresent her student
status—warranted her dismissal as a student. See, Exhibit “1” (letter and accompanying CASPA
Evaluation)
23. This draconian penalty of dismissal from the CMSV’s PA Program was also
accompanied by the CMSV Provost’s direct or implied threat of obstructing Plaintiff from
enrolling in any other PA Program, and threat of obstructing her from ever becoming a licensed
physician assistant based upon Plaintiff’s writing PA-C instead of PA-S on a letter, when neither
PA-C nor PA-S is defined by New York State law or regulation, nor taught as part of the PA
curriculum, and thus where any colloquial or practitioner’s understanding of these acronyms
cannot be presumed by a first year PA student.
24. Thus, whether an uninformed misrepresentation, an inadvertent misrepresentation, or
no misrepresentation at all (as PA-C can just as easily mean “PA-Candidate” as anything else),
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the Defendants had no legitimate basis to expel Plaintiff as a student, particularly when no harm
or possibility of harm was involved.
25. The action dismissing Plaintiff from the PA Program was unjust, arbitrary and
capricious, and an abuse of discretion, including as to penalty, for which Plaintiff seeks a remedy
under Article 78 of the N.Y.S. Civil Practice Law and Rules.
26. The dismissal appears to be the product of unlawful actions bias, thus entitling her to
additional relief under both federal and state law.
27. And her dismissal was in breach of contract and tortious, and thus actionable under
the common law of the State of New York.
B. Plaintiff’s Background
28. Plaintiff’s parents are from Pakistan and became (and are) upstanding U.S. citizens.
29. Plaintiff is a first generation American citizen and she practices the Muslim faith.
30. Plaintiff attended the New York City public schools, graduating with honors from
Utrecht High School.
31. She then enrolled in College of Staten Island, where she soon developed an interest in
healthcare and the related sciences.
32. Plaintiff began focusing on a career in medicine, and toward this end graduated from
the College of Staten Island in only three years with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology,
graduating Magna Cum Laude.
33. At the age of 20, Plaintiff applied to CMSV’s PA Program in March of 2022, and her
application was accepted.
34. Plaintiff enrolled in CMSV’s PA Program and began her studies in August, 2022.
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C. National Origin/Anti-Islam bias
35. After enrollment, Plaintiff found that she was one of only a handful of Pakistani-
American students, each of the Muslim faith, enrolled in the PA Program.
36. Plaintiff believes that the reason why Pakistani-Americans constitute only a small
percentage of the student body in the PA program is that CMSV disfavors Pakistani-
American/Muslim students, as reflected in its admissions practices and unwritten policies.
37. Plaintiff believes that because she is Pakistani-American/Muslim, she was targeted
for adverse treatment at CMSV because she spoke out regarding unfair practices affecting her
classmates after becoming class vice-president.
38. Nevertheless, Plaintiff was able to overcome the various difficulties with which she
was confronted during her first semester and a half in the PA Program.
39. Ultimately, Plaintiff completed her three semesters (autumn 2022, spring and
summer, 2023) with a “B” academic average, and her fourth semester would likely have been a
“B” academic average or better had she not been dismissed from PA Program and the expelled
from the College.
a. Bias by Faculty Member Sondra Middleton
40. Upon information and belief, CMSV’s expulsion of Plaintiff from the College
resulted predominantly from the bias and prejudice of one faculty member, Defendant
Middleton, and her negative attitude regarding people of Pakistani descent and Muslim faith.
41. Upon information and belief, Defendant Middleton’s statements evidenced anti-
Pakistani/Muslim sentiment.
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42. On more than one occasion, Defendant Middleton made unsolicited, offensive
comments to Plaintiff and her classmates relating to Muslims, the Middle East, and Southwest
Asia.
43. Ms. Middleton pointedly discussed her travel to Israel, and made comments
suggesting that Palestine should belong to Israel, and also a seemingly derogatory comment
about a Palestinian student wearing a culturally-Palestinian shirt.
44. Ms. Middleton also took issue with Plaintiff’s and other Muslim students’ request that
full-contact medical training exams be performed by same-gendered classmates.
45. Plaintiff’s request was not a demand, but merely a request because gender modesty is
a valued part of her religious faith, and medical training can ordinarily accommodate religious
modesty regarding full-contact examinations.
46. Ms. Middleton thereafter repeatedly made comments upon the Muslim students’
reasonable request, and comments about her (supposed) knowledge of the Muslim faith.
47. Additionally, Ms. Middleton then intentionally paired Muslim female students with
men (or allowed such to occur, awaiting student objection).
48. Plaintiff believes that Ms. Middleton also disdained Plaintiff, a young Pakistani
Muslim, for Plaintiff’s criticism of the PA program grading practices as being unfair, and being
especially unfair to Muslim students of Southwest Asian descent.
49. In this regard, the unfairness in student evaluation (not limited to grading) caused the
PA Program’s Southwest Asian/Muslim students to be required to undergo “remedial”
instruction that delayed their academic and career progress (as discussed further below).
50. Plaintiff believes that Ms. Middleton was the central faculty member insisting upon
Plaintiff’s dismissal from the PA Program, and that she also enlisted the aid of other faculty
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members to conspire with her to cause Plaintiff’s expulsion because of her race, religion, and
national origin.
D. Plaintiff’s dismissal from the program for a trivial and innocent error
51. On September 1, 2023, Plaintiff’s college friend, Ms. Marium Guirguis (a woman of
Southwest Asian region--Egypt), asked Plaintiff to write her a letter of recommendation in
support of her application for entry to the CMSV PA program, and other schools as well. See,
Exhibit “1”.
52. This was the first letter of recommendation that Plaintiff ever wrote.
53. Plaintiff used someone else’s letter of recommendation as a template.
a. An inexplicable, yet obviously innocent mistake
54. Plaintiff has no recollection as to why her letter of recommendation included “PA-C”
after her typewritten name, below her signature.
55. She does not recall whether the letters PA-C were perhaps on the template she used,
and that it was her oversight not to remove the letters. Nor does she recall whether perhaps she
might have had a momentary lapse in memory and thought “PA-C” stood for “PA-Candidate.”
56. What Plaintiff does know is that she had no intent to deceive anyone, or to
misrepresent her status as a student.
57. She also knows that this would be obvious to any fair-minded person.
58. A number of factors support this irrefutable conclusion.
59. First, it is clear that she was writing as a student, for a person who was a college
friend.
60. The “CASPA” form that accompanies the letter makes this clear. CASPA is
centralized recommendation platform. The form that Plaintiff correct filled out, and which
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accompanies her letter of recommendation, clearly identifies Plaintiff as a “student” at three
separate locations (twice in the form and also in Plaintiff’s email address).
61. At CMSV, the PA Program’s instruction including being informed that P.A.s must
not misrepresent their credentials in the context of patient care during rotation and not to
represent oneself as P.A. until licensed, or as a medical doctor or registered nurse upon licensure.
62. As to acronyms, it does not appear that “PA-C” has any formal legal meaning in New
York State, but rather is a usage that may (or may not) be informally understood by experienced
healthcare professionals, but not recognized as such by a PA student.
63. In this regard, the N.Y.S. Education Law specifies that only a licensed physician
assistant may use the title “physician assistant” or the abbreviation “P.A.”. There is no mention
of the letters “PA-C”.
64. Plaintiff did not indicate in any way in her letter that she was a physician assistant or
a “P.A.”.
65. Nothing in the body of Plaintiff’s September 1, 2023 letter suggesting that she is a
professor or a practicing physician assistant. On the contrary, she states in the opening
paragraph of her letter that she was writing on behalf of “a fellow student at the College of Staten
Island.”
66. Any reviewer of this letter of recommendation would recognize that it is written by a
student, not a licensed physician assistant, both from text in the body of the letter and the fact
that the CASPA “Evaluations” form identifies Plaintiff as a “Student” at the “College of Mount
St. Vincent.”
67. Plaintiff’s email address was given as “mirza.student@mountsaintvincent.edu,”
which also clearly identifies her as a student.
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68. As merely a letter of recommendation, it is clear that Plaintiff’s inclusion of “PA-C”
after her name posed no danger of injury to anyone.
69. In sum, Plaintiff cannot reasonably be viewed as having misrepresented herself
(inadvertently or otherwise) to anyone.
b. Sham “Due Process” evidences unlawful bias
70. From the process used to “convict” Plaintiff, it is clear that she was not afforded the
process that was due her under the CMSV’s handbook and policies.
71. From this, a reasonable factfinder can infer unlawful bias.
72. In attempting to defend herself, Plaintiff tried her best to elicit compassion and
sympathy from CMSV regarding its accusations against her, apologizing profusely and “falling
on her sword” as best she could.
73. This corrective action included contacting all recipients of her letter with Ms.
Guirguis to correct the acronym mistake immediately upon discovery. She hired the Rosenberg
Law Firm to assist her in this regard, and it submitted an appeal of Plaintiff’s dismissal by letter
dated November 29, 2023. See Exhibit “xx2”.
74. Plaintiff’s complaint here, however, declines to afford CMSV the benefit of the doubt
and to assume good faith on its part, because it appears clear that its actions against Plaintiff
were not taken in good faith, but rather were motivated by unlawful discrimination.
75. As described next, the procedures used to determine Plaintiff’s guilt were
Kafkaesque, and violative of Plaintiff’s contractual and statutory rights.
76. First, instead of being advised of the accusation being made in advance of the
meeting that was used to determine her guilt, Plaintiff was instead sandbagged by CMSV.
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77. Specifically, “Didactic Administrator” Marien P. Fabal, a certified surgical
technician, sent Plaintiff an email at 5:13 p.m., on September 28, 2023, informing her that she
was required to attend a “mandatory” meeting with the “Professional Conduct Review
Committee (P CRC)” the next day at 12:30 pm via Zoom. See, Exhibit “xx3”.
78. Upon information and belief, this meeting was arranged by Defendants Middleton
and Tsui Yuen as a sham hearing, as they had already conspired between themselves that they
would find Plaintiff guilty of professional misconduct and cause her dismissal from the PA
Program and expulsion from CMSV.
79. Plaintiff confirmed that she would attend the PCRC meeting and asked what the
“meeting is about.” Yet she was given no information at all by the senior members of the
committee, namely, Defendant Middleton and Defendant Yuen.
80. Plaintiff attended the Zoom meeting of the PCRC the next day, and was informed,
essentially, that she had committed serious misconduct by writing “PA-C” after her typewritten
name. Plaintiff had no immediate detailed response, other than to say that she never intended to
misrepresent herself as a licensed physician assistant, as she was not aware that she had made the
acronym error before being told about it at this Zoom meeting.
81. The people attending this Zoom meeting included Ms. Fabal (a surgical technician),
Defendant Sondra Middleton, Mr. Harold Felton (white U.S.-born male) and Mr. Tsui Yuen (a
Chinese-American woman). None of these individuals are from Southwest Asia, and none any
of them are Muslim.
82. Upon information and belief, the animus evidenced by committee members
Middleton and Yuen toward Plaintiff caused committee member Harold Felton to resign in
protest.
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83. On October 4, 2023 at 8:32pm, Dr. Tsui Yuen sent an email to Plaintiff indicating
that a Zoom meeting was being scheduled for at 4:00 p.m. the following day, October 5th, with
the topic being identified as “Professor Middleton’s APC/Academic Progress Committee.” See,
Exhibit “xx4”.
84. However, because of her workload and mandatory all day class attendance, Plaintiff
did not see Dr. Yuen’s email until after the October 5th meeting had been held.
85. Accordingly, she sent a reply email apologizing for missing the email and the
meeting, and further asking that the meeting be rescheduled. Id.
86. She received no response from Dr. Yuen or the Academic Progress Committee.
87. The failure and refusal of the Academic Progress Committee (“APC”), chaired by
Defendant Middleton, to input its deliberations by her attendance, and its failure to even respond
to her email requesting such, is further evidence of unlawful intent and bad faith by Defendants
CMSV and Middleton.
88. From the refusal of Didactic Administrator Fabal to provide Plaintiff with notice of
the accusation against her in advance of the September 29th meeting, and the refusal of the APC
to reschedule its October 5th meeting so as to afford Plaintiff a hearing of any sort, a reasonable
factfinder can infer that CMSV’s expulsion decision was predetermined.
89. On October 9, 2023, Plaintiff was informed by Defendant Middleton’s letter of that
date that:
“We regret to inform you that your current enrollment in the PA Program has
been terminated and will be effective immediately for the following reason:
• Misrepresentation as a graduate, certified PA.”
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See, Exhibit “xx5”.
90. On October 10, 2023, Plaintiff sent an email to Dr. Anthony Garofalo, subject:
“Dismissal appeal,” which apologized for her “PA-C” acronym error and explaining the
immediate steps she took to rectify the error. See, Exhibit “xx6” (Plaintiff’s email to Dr.
Garofalo and his reply).
91. By letter dated October 15, 2023, Dr. Garofalo, as Director of the PA Program,
informed Plaintiff that he was upholding her dismissal. He indicated that he completed an
“exhaustive review of the reports furnished to his office, including Plaintiff’s statements
“outlining [her] actions and the rationale behind these actions.” See, Exhibit “xx7”.
92. Upon information and belief, Dr. Garofalo undertook no “exhaustive review,” but
merely rubber-stamped the unlawfully biased and pretextual grounds for expelling an honest and
dedicated student, the Plaintiff, for essentially making a typographical mistake that caused and
threatened no harm.
93. Dr. Garofalo went on to write that his decision was based upon the following factors:
• Misrepresentation as a graduate of a Physician Assistant Program
• Misrepresentation as a nationally board-certified Physician Assistant
evidenced by signing your name to a letter of reference within the CASPA
application process as a Physician Assistant-Certified (PA-C).
• Failure to comply with the College of Mount Saint Vincent, Physician
Assistant Program Policy and Procedure Manual, specifically CMSV 317-
Academic Dismissal “Section-1, sub-section E, subparagraph IV” which
specifically states: Misrepresented one’s physician assistant student status
as, for example, a physician assistant, a nurse practitioner, a physician, or
a medical resident.
Id.
94. As discussed in this Complaint, Dr. Garofalo’s assertions are unfounded and
demonstrably false.
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95. By clearly indicating, in multiple ways, that she was a student, no reasonable,
unbiased person could conclude that the acronym “PA-C” after Plaintiff’s name was anything
other than a typographical mistake.
96. The draconian action Defendants took against Plaintiff was not founded on what she
did (namely, make an innocent mistake), but rather was founded on who she is (namely, a
Muslim Pakistani woman who spoke out against unfairness toward students, including minority
students).
97. By letter dated November 29, 2023, CMSV Provost Lynn A. Bongiovanni informed
Plaintiff that as Provost she was upholding Plaintiff’s expulsion from the CMSV PA Program.
See, Exhibit “xx8”.
98. This hybrid action/Article 78 proceeding is commenced within four months of such
final determination.
E. Additional Evidence of National Origin/Muslim discrimination
99. CMSV, in its PA Program, 2 appears to have acted in a discriminatory manner toward
the Plaintiff and other similarly situated PA students notwithstanding its advertised goals of
“diversity and inclusion” 3 and its policy not to discriminate on the basis of “basis of race, color,
creed, national origin, alienage, citizenship, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or
marital status.” 4
2
See, https://mountsaintvincent.edu/graduate-adult/graduate-programs/pa-studies-program/pa-studies-
program-diversity-and-inclusion/
3
See, https://mountsaintvincent.edu/graduate-adult/graduate-programs/pa-studies-program/pa-studies-
program-diversity-and-inclusion/
4
See, https://mountsaintvincent.edu/about/the-college/non-discrimination-policy/
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100. Despite its professed policies of inclusion and non-discrimination, minority
students in the PA Program (including Plaintiff) have been held back or removed from the
program for arbitrary reasons.
101. The PA Program is new to CMSV, and Plaintiff was enrolled in its inaugural class
of just over 50 students.
102. Plaintiff has seen that CMSV treats physician assistant students differently in the
terms and conditions of their enrollment based upon their race, national origin and religion
(namely, dark-skinned, Southwest Asian student of the Muslim faith).
103. Specifically, PA Program staff treated Pakistani-American minority students
differently in the terms and conditions of their enrollment and studies than other students.
104. Out of Plaintiff’s original class of 55 students, eight students failed to progress.
Two of these eight students who failed to progress were given an opportunity to return to class
the next year, namely—the only two white students of the group.
105. The non-minority students did not face the additional tuition expenses imposed on
the minority students, as they were not required to pay for additional remedial class sessions.
The 6 students of color who did not progress onward academically, some with origins outside the
United States, were not given a similar opportunity.
106. Additionally, Bangladeshi and other Southern Asian colleagues of Plaintiff (four
in total 5) were held back from clinical instruction by being put on probation requiring six weeks
of remedial instruction. These minority students were put on probation notwithstanding each
having passing grades in all respects. This was arbitrary and capricious action at best, and
blatant unlawful discrimination at worst.
5
Ms. Sehrish Waseem, Mr. Muhammad Ahsan, Mr. Saalihh Chowdhury, and Mr. Arif Hussin.
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107. This discrimination occurred the month following Plaintiff’s October 2023
expulsion from CMSV.
108. Defendant Middleton, upon information and belief, supervised this discriminatory
treatment of these Muslim students.
109. Plaintiff was the vice president of her class’s Student Council, elected by the
student body. The Student Council consisted of four members, which included Plaintiff, as well
as two other Muslims (the President, a female, and the Treasurer, a male), and one non-Muslim
woman from the Philippines.
110. As a member of the Student Council speaking up on behalf of all students,
Plaintiff (a female Muslim) and the other members of the Student Council (all minorities)
received the scorn of Mr. Garofalo, who may have been biased in his attitude toward these
minority students.
111. Plaintiff believes that PA Program faculty member Harold Felton, P.A., resigned
in protest against the PCRC’s actions against Plaintiff, as described in ¶ 82, supra, and in protest
against the PA Program’s discrimination toward Plaintiff and other students, in solidarity with
the students.
112. In sum, the reason given for Plaintiff’s dismissal from the CMSV PA Program
was pretextual and a sham, designed to conceal its unlawfully discriminatory and retaliatory
expulsion of an upstanding, dedicated and hard-working student from its ever-whitening
program.
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F. Breach of Contract
113. Upon information and belief, Defendants presented no justifiable grounds
sufficient to warrant Plaintiff’s termination from the PA Program, for which program Plaintiff
invested a huge expenditure of personal time, educational effort, and personal finances.
114. To date, Plaintiff and her father (a taxi and Uber driver) have invested over
$80,000 in her future by way of the CMSV PA Program.
115. Upon information and belief, Defendants CMSV breached their express and
implied contracts with Plaintiff, including their obligation of good faith and fair dealing with
students in the PA Program.
G. The Provost’s biased threat
116. Defendant Anthony Garofalo’s letter dated October 15, 2023 (Exhibit 7), was
certainly closely read by the Provost, Dr. Lynn Bongiovanni, before her final decision as Provost
was issued.
117. Defendant Garofalo letter misstated the facts, thus injecting untruth into the
CMSV decision-making and infecting it with unlawful bias.
118. Specifically, in Defendant Garofalo’s letter dated October 15, 2023, he
misrepresents the facts by stating that one of his rationales for upholding Plaintiff’s expulsion
was Plaintiff had engaged in:
“signing [Plaintiff’s] name to a letter of reference within the CASPA application
process as a Physician Assistant-Certified ….”
See, Exhibit 7.
119. Yet it is absolutely clear that Plaintiff never wrote the words “Physician Assistant-
Certified.” (emphasis added).
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120. In her letter dated November 29, 2023, Defendant Bongiovanni, as Provost,
wrote to Plaintiff that:
“Having committed this misrepresentation may impact your ability to obtain
licensure after graduation, which is something that the College must consider as
it allocates limited program openings to the students who are most likely to
continue on to a successful career as a practitioner.” (emphasis added)
121. The most logical inference from Provost Bongiovanni letter was that the Provost
was stating to Plaintiff that CMSV would be reporting her purported professional misconduct
(“misrepresentation”) to other entities, including but not limited to the New York State licensing
authority for physician assistants.
122. Accordingly, this was, it appears, a promise by CMSV and Defendant
Bongiovanni to defame Plaintiff in the future; to interfere with prospective advantage; to
interfere with prospective contractual inventions and otherwise to maliciously disadvantage the
plaintiff in her future endeavors.
123. The letter may also be seen as racist, xenophobic and anti-Muslim, as the letter
states that CMSV will allocate its resources away from Plaintiff (a Muslim woman of Pakistani
ancestry) for her alleged “misrepresentation” in favor of non-Muslim, non-Southwest Asian
students who are “most likely to continue on to a successful career….”
124. Upon information and belief, the only way Plaintiff would be blacklisted in the
PA profession due to alleged “misrepresentation” would be for one or more of the Defendants to
communicate the accusation (and supposed findings) to outside entities.
125. This threat from defendant Bongiovanni, upon information and belief, was
intended to stifle and squash any hope Plaintiff may have had for continuing a PA education
elsewhere.
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126. As such, it served as a means to reduce the number Muslims from Southwest Asia
in the physician assistant workforce in the New York metropolitan area.
127. This also amounted to an unlawful restraint of trade.
128. It is an especially obnoxious restraint of trade, as described elsewhere in this
complaint, because it seeks to hinder and exclude Muslims of Southwest Asian origin from the
PA profession in the New York metropolitan region.
H. Willful Actions Warranting Punitive Damages
129. Upon information and belief, the Defendants’ conduct was intentional, willful,
conspiratorial, wanton, and designed to discriminate against, punish and penalize Plaintiff on
account of her race, ethnicity, national origin, and religion.
130. Thus, Defendant’s conduct warrants an award of significant punitive damages, in
order to deter such conduct in the future.
I. Mitigation of Damages
131. Plaintiff has diligently attempted to ascertain whether it is possible for her to
become enrolled elsewhere in order for her to become qualified as a licensed physician assistant
in the state of New York.
132. As a practical matter, it will be virtually impossible for Plaintiff to become
enrolled in another physician assistant curriculum or program at any other regional hospital or
school because of the fact that Plaintiff was discharged from Defendants’ program for allegedly
“misrepresenting [her] credentials.”
133. Defendant Bongiovanni’s letter emphasizes this point.
134. Moreover, even if it were possible for Plaintiff to re-enroll in another program, in
order for Plaintiff to become qualified as a physician assistant, she would have to re-enroll as a
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beginning student for such studies and clinical program, thus requiring her to devote similar time
as she has already expended, and expense as she has already paid, to the CMSV.
135. Physician assistants’ current starting salaries in the New York metropolitan area
are averaging approximately $100,000, with earnings averaging approximately $170,000 after
five years’ experience.
136. Upon information and belief, Plaintiff’s wage-earning potential without the
degree and certificate denied her by Defendants, is only a fraction of what her potential would be
with such University degree and physician assistant certificate.
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION—
BREACH OF CONTRACT
137. Plaintiff repeats and realleges the prior paragraphs above as if repeated here again
at length.
138. Plaintiff and CMSV entered into a contractual relationship when, after Plaintiff
applied for admission to CMSV’s PA Program, she was accepted for admission and enrolled.
139. This contractual relationship was and is governed by basic principles of contract
law, including covenants of good faith and fair dealing, as well as by CMSV’s various stated
policies and handbook(s).
140. Defendant CMSV breached his contract with Plaintiff in various ways, including
but not limited to:
failing to provide her with the basic due process promised by CMSV’s student handbook
and policies;
wrongfully determining that Plaintiff was in material breach of her contractual
obligations as a student based upon one innocent mista
Preview
FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF BRONX ------------------------------------------------------------------------- X ROHMA MIRZA, Petitioner-Plaintiff, against HYBRID ARTICLE 78 PETITION AND COMPLAINT COLLEGE OF MOUNT SAINT VINCENT BOARD OF TRUSTEES, SUSAN R. BURNS, President, LYNNE A. BONGIOVANNI, Ph.D., DAVID LICHTENSTEIN, M.D., ANTHONY J. GAROFALO, SONDRA MIDDLETON, AND TSUI YUEN, Defendants-Respondents. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- X Plaintiff ROHMA MIRZA, by her attorneys, Michael Diederich, Jr. and the Diederich Law Office, complains of the Defendants as follows: INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT 1. This is an hybrid Article 78 proceeding and action at law for injunctive and declaratory relief and damages against Defendants College of Mount Saint Vincent (“CMSV”), its Board of Trustees, Susan R. Burns, its president, Lynne A. Bongiovanni, Ph.D., its provost and dean, David Lichtenstein, M.D., its Physician Assistant Program medical director, and Anthony J. Garofalo and Sondra Middleton, both professors (altogether “Defendants”), challenging Defendant CMSV’s expulsion of Plaintiff Rohma Mirza from its Physician Assistants Program (“PA Program”) purportedly because she mistakenly used an acronym “PA- C”. Plaintiff was expelled for using this acronym—an acronym neither recognized nor authorized by New York law-- after her typewritten name on a letter of recommendation written for a friend. “PA-C” could mean “Physician Assistant-Candidate,” and as a third semester 1 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 physician assistant student, Plaintiff might understandably (and certainly forgivably) make a mistake regarding acronym usage. 2. CMSV students commonly use the acronym “PA-S” in correspondence—and CMVS facilitates and encourages this. Yet such usage is arguably a violation of New York criminal law as being a misrepresentation of the status of CMSV students, 1 as “PA-S” could easily be interpreted, for example, as “physician assistant-supervisor.” Thus, CMSV’s draconian punishment of Plaintiff of an innocent mistake when CMSV itself is ignoring N.Y.S. statute is essentially the “pot calling the kettle black.” 3. As set forth below, the actual motivation for Plaintiff’s expulsion from the CMSV PA Program was not the typographical error--something that neither caused nor risked any harm. That reason was pretextual and a sham. Instead, the motivation was unlawful religious and national origin bias against a young woman born to Pakistani parents doing her best to make them proud as upstanding naturalized U.S. citizens by advancing her education in pursuit of her goal of becoming a skilled healthcare practitioner in New York City. 4. Plaintiff’s career and life aspirations will be destroyed absent corrective action by this Court, which this Court can provide because her expulsion from the PA Program was arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable and an abuse of discretion, and thus redressable under both CPLR Article 78 proceeding and various anti-discrimination statutes. 5. The Court is requested to provide mandamus relief, in the form of an affirmative injunction reinstating Plaintiff to the CMSV PA Program, with ancillary relief. 1 Under New York State law, only a person licensed as a physician assistant by the N.Y.S. Department of Education may use the title “physician assistant” or “P.A.” after his or her name. See, N.Y.S. Education Law § 6543. 2 2 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 6. Additionally, because the Defendants’ actions interfered with and breached Plaintiff’s educational contract with CMSV, and its adverse action motivated by unlawful discrimination and reprisal based upon Plaintiff’s ethnicity, national origin, religion and race, Plaintiff seeks damages available under state and federal laws. THE PARTIES 7. Plaintiff Rohma Mirza (hereinafter “Plaintiff”) is a resident of Staten Island, in the County of Richmond, City of New York, State of New York. 8. Defendant College of Mount Saint Vincent, also known as the University of Mount Saint Vincent, upon information and belief, is and at all times relevant herein was a non-profit corporation licensed and authorized to do business under the laws of the State of New York. 9. Defendant CMSV, upon information and belief, receives federal funding. 10. Upon information and belief, the Defendant Board of Trustees of CMSV is its final policymaking and governing body. 11. Upon information and belief, at all times relevant herein, Defendant Susan R. Burns (U.S.-born, non-Muslim) was affiliated with, as an agent or employee of, CMSV, holding the position of President. 12. Upon information and belief, at all times relevant herein, Defendant Dr. Lynne Bongiovanni (U.S.-born, non-Muslim) was affiliated with, as an agent or employee of, CMSV, holding the position of Provost and Dean of the College. 13. Upon information and belief, Defendant Dr. David Lichtenstein (U.S.-born, non- Muslim) is a physician licensed to practice medicine in the State of New York, and is, and was at all times relevant hereto, affiliated with, as an agent or employee of, CMSV, and serves as the medical director of the PA Program. 3 3 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 14. Upon information and belief, Defendant Anthony Garofalo (U.S.-born, Italian- American, non-Muslim) is a physician assistant and is licensed to practice as such in the State of New York, and at all times relevant herein was affiliated with, as an agent or employee of, CMSV. He is sued in his individual capacity as an “aider and abettor” to unlawful discrimination and conspiracy. 15. Upon information and belief, Defendant Sondra Middleton (U.S.-born, African American, non-Muslim) is a physician assistant and is licensed to practice as such in the State of New York, and at all times relevant herein, Defendant, was affiliated with, as an agent or employee of, CMSV. She is sued in her individual capacity as an “aider and abettor” to unlawful discrimination and as a conspirator. 16. Upon information and belief, Defendant Tsui Yuen (Chinese-American woman, non- Muslim) is a physician assistant and is licensed to practice as such in the State of New York, and at all times relevant herein, Defendant, was affiliated with, as an agent or employee of, CMSV. She is sued in her individual capacity as an “aider and abettor” to unlawful discrimination and as a conspirator. JURISDICTION AND VENUE ALLEGATIONS 17. Both this court and the federal courts have concurrent jurisdiction over the federal claims asserted in this action under inter alia, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq., 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1985 and 1986, and under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and § 1343(4), as well as Plaintiff’s state law claims. 18. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to C.P.L.R. Article 78 to review the actions by bodies or officers (including of corporations) who have failed to perform a duty enjoined upon them by law and/or are acting arbitrarily, capriciously or are abusing their discretion. 19. This Court also has jurisdiction pursuant to C.P.L.R. § 3001 to the extent that declaratory relief is appropriate herein. 4 4 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 20. The principal situs of the acts complained of occurred in Bronx County, in the State of New York. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS A. Overview 21. Plaintiff Rohma Mirza has pursued a dream of becoming a physician assistant. Toward this end, she and her parents have invested a large amount of personal funds and Plaintiff a large time investment in academic and clinical study. 22. Plaintiff’s dream has been destroyed, absent corrective action by this Court because of apparent racial, ethnic, national origin, and religious bias that caused the Defendants to conclude that the inadvertent insertion of the initials “PA-C” after her typewritten name in a letter of recommendation for a friend—with no motive or intent to misrepresent her student status—warranted her dismissal as a student. See, Exhibit “1” (letter and accompanying CASPA Evaluation) 23. This draconian penalty of dismissal from the CMSV’s PA Program was also accompanied by the CMSV Provost’s direct or implied threat of obstructing Plaintiff from enrolling in any other PA Program, and threat of obstructing her from ever becoming a licensed physician assistant based upon Plaintiff’s writing PA-C instead of PA-S on a letter, when neither PA-C nor PA-S is defined by New York State law or regulation, nor taught as part of the PA curriculum, and thus where any colloquial or practitioner’s understanding of these acronyms cannot be presumed by a first year PA student. 24. Thus, whether an uninformed misrepresentation, an inadvertent misrepresentation, or no misrepresentation at all (as PA-C can just as easily mean “PA-Candidate” as anything else), 5 5 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 the Defendants had no legitimate basis to expel Plaintiff as a student, particularly when no harm or possibility of harm was involved. 25. The action dismissing Plaintiff from the PA Program was unjust, arbitrary and capricious, and an abuse of discretion, including as to penalty, for which Plaintiff seeks a remedy under Article 78 of the N.Y.S. Civil Practice Law and Rules. 26. The dismissal appears to be the product of unlawful actions bias, thus entitling her to additional relief under both federal and state law. 27. And her dismissal was in breach of contract and tortious, and thus actionable under the common law of the State of New York. B. Plaintiff’s Background 28. Plaintiff’s parents are from Pakistan and became (and are) upstanding U.S. citizens. 29. Plaintiff is a first generation American citizen and she practices the Muslim faith. 30. Plaintiff attended the New York City public schools, graduating with honors from Utrecht High School. 31. She then enrolled in College of Staten Island, where she soon developed an interest in healthcare and the related sciences. 32. Plaintiff began focusing on a career in medicine, and toward this end graduated from the College of Staten Island in only three years with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, graduating Magna Cum Laude. 33. At the age of 20, Plaintiff applied to CMSV’s PA Program in March of 2022, and her application was accepted. 34. Plaintiff enrolled in CMSV’s PA Program and began her studies in August, 2022. 6 6 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 C. National Origin/Anti-Islam bias 35. After enrollment, Plaintiff found that she was one of only a handful of Pakistani- American students, each of the Muslim faith, enrolled in the PA Program. 36. Plaintiff believes that the reason why Pakistani-Americans constitute only a small percentage of the student body in the PA program is that CMSV disfavors Pakistani- American/Muslim students, as reflected in its admissions practices and unwritten policies. 37. Plaintiff believes that because she is Pakistani-American/Muslim, she was targeted for adverse treatment at CMSV because she spoke out regarding unfair practices affecting her classmates after becoming class vice-president. 38. Nevertheless, Plaintiff was able to overcome the various difficulties with which she was confronted during her first semester and a half in the PA Program. 39. Ultimately, Plaintiff completed her three semesters (autumn 2022, spring and summer, 2023) with a “B” academic average, and her fourth semester would likely have been a “B” academic average or better had she not been dismissed from PA Program and the expelled from the College. a. Bias by Faculty Member Sondra Middleton 40. Upon information and belief, CMSV’s expulsion of Plaintiff from the College resulted predominantly from the bias and prejudice of one faculty member, Defendant Middleton, and her negative attitude regarding people of Pakistani descent and Muslim faith. 41. Upon information and belief, Defendant Middleton’s statements evidenced anti- Pakistani/Muslim sentiment. 7 7 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 42. On more than one occasion, Defendant Middleton made unsolicited, offensive comments to Plaintiff and her classmates relating to Muslims, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. 43. Ms. Middleton pointedly discussed her travel to Israel, and made comments suggesting that Palestine should belong to Israel, and also a seemingly derogatory comment about a Palestinian student wearing a culturally-Palestinian shirt. 44. Ms. Middleton also took issue with Plaintiff’s and other Muslim students’ request that full-contact medical training exams be performed by same-gendered classmates. 45. Plaintiff’s request was not a demand, but merely a request because gender modesty is a valued part of her religious faith, and medical training can ordinarily accommodate religious modesty regarding full-contact examinations. 46. Ms. Middleton thereafter repeatedly made comments upon the Muslim students’ reasonable request, and comments about her (supposed) knowledge of the Muslim faith. 47. Additionally, Ms. Middleton then intentionally paired Muslim female students with men (or allowed such to occur, awaiting student objection). 48. Plaintiff believes that Ms. Middleton also disdained Plaintiff, a young Pakistani Muslim, for Plaintiff’s criticism of the PA program grading practices as being unfair, and being especially unfair to Muslim students of Southwest Asian descent. 49. In this regard, the unfairness in student evaluation (not limited to grading) caused the PA Program’s Southwest Asian/Muslim students to be required to undergo “remedial” instruction that delayed their academic and career progress (as discussed further below). 50. Plaintiff believes that Ms. Middleton was the central faculty member insisting upon Plaintiff’s dismissal from the PA Program, and that she also enlisted the aid of other faculty 8 8 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 members to conspire with her to cause Plaintiff’s expulsion because of her race, religion, and national origin. D. Plaintiff’s dismissal from the program for a trivial and innocent error 51. On September 1, 2023, Plaintiff’s college friend, Ms. Marium Guirguis (a woman of Southwest Asian region--Egypt), asked Plaintiff to write her a letter of recommendation in support of her application for entry to the CMSV PA program, and other schools as well. See, Exhibit “1”. 52. This was the first letter of recommendation that Plaintiff ever wrote. 53. Plaintiff used someone else’s letter of recommendation as a template. a. An inexplicable, yet obviously innocent mistake 54. Plaintiff has no recollection as to why her letter of recommendation included “PA-C” after her typewritten name, below her signature. 55. She does not recall whether the letters PA-C were perhaps on the template she used, and that it was her oversight not to remove the letters. Nor does she recall whether perhaps she might have had a momentary lapse in memory and thought “PA-C” stood for “PA-Candidate.” 56. What Plaintiff does know is that she had no intent to deceive anyone, or to misrepresent her status as a student. 57. She also knows that this would be obvious to any fair-minded person. 58. A number of factors support this irrefutable conclusion. 59. First, it is clear that she was writing as a student, for a person who was a college friend. 60. The “CASPA” form that accompanies the letter makes this clear. CASPA is centralized recommendation platform. The form that Plaintiff correct filled out, and which 9 9 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 accompanies her letter of recommendation, clearly identifies Plaintiff as a “student” at three separate locations (twice in the form and also in Plaintiff’s email address). 61. At CMSV, the PA Program’s instruction including being informed that P.A.s must not misrepresent their credentials in the context of patient care during rotation and not to represent oneself as P.A. until licensed, or as a medical doctor or registered nurse upon licensure. 62. As to acronyms, it does not appear that “PA-C” has any formal legal meaning in New York State, but rather is a usage that may (or may not) be informally understood by experienced healthcare professionals, but not recognized as such by a PA student. 63. In this regard, the N.Y.S. Education Law specifies that only a licensed physician assistant may use the title “physician assistant” or the abbreviation “P.A.”. There is no mention of the letters “PA-C”. 64. Plaintiff did not indicate in any way in her letter that she was a physician assistant or a “P.A.”. 65. Nothing in the body of Plaintiff’s September 1, 2023 letter suggesting that she is a professor or a practicing physician assistant. On the contrary, she states in the opening paragraph of her letter that she was writing on behalf of “a fellow student at the College of Staten Island.” 66. Any reviewer of this letter of recommendation would recognize that it is written by a student, not a licensed physician assistant, both from text in the body of the letter and the fact that the CASPA “Evaluations” form identifies Plaintiff as a “Student” at the “College of Mount St. Vincent.” 67. Plaintiff’s email address was given as “mirza.student@mountsaintvincent.edu,” which also clearly identifies her as a student. 10 10 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 68. As merely a letter of recommendation, it is clear that Plaintiff’s inclusion of “PA-C” after her name posed no danger of injury to anyone. 69. In sum, Plaintiff cannot reasonably be viewed as having misrepresented herself (inadvertently or otherwise) to anyone. b. Sham “Due Process” evidences unlawful bias 70. From the process used to “convict” Plaintiff, it is clear that she was not afforded the process that was due her under the CMSV’s handbook and policies. 71. From this, a reasonable factfinder can infer unlawful bias. 72. In attempting to defend herself, Plaintiff tried her best to elicit compassion and sympathy from CMSV regarding its accusations against her, apologizing profusely and “falling on her sword” as best she could. 73. This corrective action included contacting all recipients of her letter with Ms. Guirguis to correct the acronym mistake immediately upon discovery. She hired the Rosenberg Law Firm to assist her in this regard, and it submitted an appeal of Plaintiff’s dismissal by letter dated November 29, 2023. See Exhibit “xx2”. 74. Plaintiff’s complaint here, however, declines to afford CMSV the benefit of the doubt and to assume good faith on its part, because it appears clear that its actions against Plaintiff were not taken in good faith, but rather were motivated by unlawful discrimination. 75. As described next, the procedures used to determine Plaintiff’s guilt were Kafkaesque, and violative of Plaintiff’s contractual and statutory rights. 76. First, instead of being advised of the accusation being made in advance of the meeting that was used to determine her guilt, Plaintiff was instead sandbagged by CMSV. 11 11 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 77. Specifically, “Didactic Administrator” Marien P. Fabal, a certified surgical technician, sent Plaintiff an email at 5:13 p.m., on September 28, 2023, informing her that she was required to attend a “mandatory” meeting with the “Professional Conduct Review Committee (P CRC)” the next day at 12:30 pm via Zoom. See, Exhibit “xx3”. 78. Upon information and belief, this meeting was arranged by Defendants Middleton and Tsui Yuen as a sham hearing, as they had already conspired between themselves that they would find Plaintiff guilty of professional misconduct and cause her dismissal from the PA Program and expulsion from CMSV. 79. Plaintiff confirmed that she would attend the PCRC meeting and asked what the “meeting is about.” Yet she was given no information at all by the senior members of the committee, namely, Defendant Middleton and Defendant Yuen. 80. Plaintiff attended the Zoom meeting of the PCRC the next day, and was informed, essentially, that she had committed serious misconduct by writing “PA-C” after her typewritten name. Plaintiff had no immediate detailed response, other than to say that she never intended to misrepresent herself as a licensed physician assistant, as she was not aware that she had made the acronym error before being told about it at this Zoom meeting. 81. The people attending this Zoom meeting included Ms. Fabal (a surgical technician), Defendant Sondra Middleton, Mr. Harold Felton (white U.S.-born male) and Mr. Tsui Yuen (a Chinese-American woman). None of these individuals are from Southwest Asia, and none any of them are Muslim. 82. Upon information and belief, the animus evidenced by committee members Middleton and Yuen toward Plaintiff caused committee member Harold Felton to resign in protest. 12 12 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 83. On October 4, 2023 at 8:32pm, Dr. Tsui Yuen sent an email to Plaintiff indicating that a Zoom meeting was being scheduled for at 4:00 p.m. the following day, October 5th, with the topic being identified as “Professor Middleton’s APC/Academic Progress Committee.” See, Exhibit “xx4”. 84. However, because of her workload and mandatory all day class attendance, Plaintiff did not see Dr. Yuen’s email until after the October 5th meeting had been held. 85. Accordingly, she sent a reply email apologizing for missing the email and the meeting, and further asking that the meeting be rescheduled. Id. 86. She received no response from Dr. Yuen or the Academic Progress Committee. 87. The failure and refusal of the Academic Progress Committee (“APC”), chaired by Defendant Middleton, to input its deliberations by her attendance, and its failure to even respond to her email requesting such, is further evidence of unlawful intent and bad faith by Defendants CMSV and Middleton. 88. From the refusal of Didactic Administrator Fabal to provide Plaintiff with notice of the accusation against her in advance of the September 29th meeting, and the refusal of the APC to reschedule its October 5th meeting so as to afford Plaintiff a hearing of any sort, a reasonable factfinder can infer that CMSV’s expulsion decision was predetermined. 89. On October 9, 2023, Plaintiff was informed by Defendant Middleton’s letter of that date that: “We regret to inform you that your current enrollment in the PA Program has been terminated and will be effective immediately for the following reason: • Misrepresentation as a graduate, certified PA.” 13 13 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 See, Exhibit “xx5”. 90. On October 10, 2023, Plaintiff sent an email to Dr. Anthony Garofalo, subject: “Dismissal appeal,” which apologized for her “PA-C” acronym error and explaining the immediate steps she took to rectify the error. See, Exhibit “xx6” (Plaintiff’s email to Dr. Garofalo and his reply). 91. By letter dated October 15, 2023, Dr. Garofalo, as Director of the PA Program, informed Plaintiff that he was upholding her dismissal. He indicated that he completed an “exhaustive review of the reports furnished to his office, including Plaintiff’s statements “outlining [her] actions and the rationale behind these actions.” See, Exhibit “xx7”. 92. Upon information and belief, Dr. Garofalo undertook no “exhaustive review,” but merely rubber-stamped the unlawfully biased and pretextual grounds for expelling an honest and dedicated student, the Plaintiff, for essentially making a typographical mistake that caused and threatened no harm. 93. Dr. Garofalo went on to write that his decision was based upon the following factors: • Misrepresentation as a graduate of a Physician Assistant Program • Misrepresentation as a nationally board-certified Physician Assistant evidenced by signing your name to a letter of reference within the CASPA application process as a Physician Assistant-Certified (PA-C). • Failure to comply with the College of Mount Saint Vincent, Physician Assistant Program Policy and Procedure Manual, specifically CMSV 317- Academic Dismissal “Section-1, sub-section E, subparagraph IV” which specifically states: Misrepresented one’s physician assistant student status as, for example, a physician assistant, a nurse practitioner, a physician, or a medical resident. Id. 94. As discussed in this Complaint, Dr. Garofalo’s assertions are unfounded and demonstrably false. 14 14 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 95. By clearly indicating, in multiple ways, that she was a student, no reasonable, unbiased person could conclude that the acronym “PA-C” after Plaintiff’s name was anything other than a typographical mistake. 96. The draconian action Defendants took against Plaintiff was not founded on what she did (namely, make an innocent mistake), but rather was founded on who she is (namely, a Muslim Pakistani woman who spoke out against unfairness toward students, including minority students). 97. By letter dated November 29, 2023, CMSV Provost Lynn A. Bongiovanni informed Plaintiff that as Provost she was upholding Plaintiff’s expulsion from the CMSV PA Program. See, Exhibit “xx8”. 98. This hybrid action/Article 78 proceeding is commenced within four months of such final determination. E. Additional Evidence of National Origin/Muslim discrimination 99. CMSV, in its PA Program, 2 appears to have acted in a discriminatory manner toward the Plaintiff and other similarly situated PA students notwithstanding its advertised goals of “diversity and inclusion” 3 and its policy not to discriminate on the basis of “basis of race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, citizenship, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or marital status.” 4 2 See, https://mountsaintvincent.edu/graduate-adult/graduate-programs/pa-studies-program/pa-studies- program-diversity-and-inclusion/ 3 See, https://mountsaintvincent.edu/graduate-adult/graduate-programs/pa-studies-program/pa-studies- program-diversity-and-inclusion/ 4 See, https://mountsaintvincent.edu/about/the-college/non-discrimination-policy/ 15 15 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 100. Despite its professed policies of inclusion and non-discrimination, minority students in the PA Program (including Plaintiff) have been held back or removed from the program for arbitrary reasons. 101. The PA Program is new to CMSV, and Plaintiff was enrolled in its inaugural class of just over 50 students. 102. Plaintiff has seen that CMSV treats physician assistant students differently in the terms and conditions of their enrollment based upon their race, national origin and religion (namely, dark-skinned, Southwest Asian student of the Muslim faith). 103. Specifically, PA Program staff treated Pakistani-American minority students differently in the terms and conditions of their enrollment and studies than other students. 104. Out of Plaintiff’s original class of 55 students, eight students failed to progress. Two of these eight students who failed to progress were given an opportunity to return to class the next year, namely—the only two white students of the group. 105. The non-minority students did not face the additional tuition expenses imposed on the minority students, as they were not required to pay for additional remedial class sessions. The 6 students of color who did not progress onward academically, some with origins outside the United States, were not given a similar opportunity. 106. Additionally, Bangladeshi and other Southern Asian colleagues of Plaintiff (four in total 5) were held back from clinical instruction by being put on probation requiring six weeks of remedial instruction. These minority students were put on probation notwithstanding each having passing grades in all respects. This was arbitrary and capricious action at best, and blatant unlawful discrimination at worst. 5 Ms. Sehrish Waseem, Mr. Muhammad Ahsan, Mr. Saalihh Chowdhury, and Mr. Arif Hussin. 16 16 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 107. This discrimination occurred the month following Plaintiff’s October 2023 expulsion from CMSV. 108. Defendant Middleton, upon information and belief, supervised this discriminatory treatment of these Muslim students. 109. Plaintiff was the vice president of her class’s Student Council, elected by the student body. The Student Council consisted of four members, which included Plaintiff, as well as two other Muslims (the President, a female, and the Treasurer, a male), and one non-Muslim woman from the Philippines. 110. As a member of the Student Council speaking up on behalf of all students, Plaintiff (a female Muslim) and the other members of the Student Council (all minorities) received the scorn of Mr. Garofalo, who may have been biased in his attitude toward these minority students. 111. Plaintiff believes that PA Program faculty member Harold Felton, P.A., resigned in protest against the PCRC’s actions against Plaintiff, as described in ¶ 82, supra, and in protest against the PA Program’s discrimination toward Plaintiff and other students, in solidarity with the students. 112. In sum, the reason given for Plaintiff’s dismissal from the CMSV PA Program was pretextual and a sham, designed to conceal its unlawfully discriminatory and retaliatory expulsion of an upstanding, dedicated and hard-working student from its ever-whitening program. 17 17 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 F. Breach of Contract 113. Upon information and belief, Defendants presented no justifiable grounds sufficient to warrant Plaintiff’s termination from the PA Program, for which program Plaintiff invested a huge expenditure of personal time, educational effort, and personal finances. 114. To date, Plaintiff and her father (a taxi and Uber driver) have invested over $80,000 in her future by way of the CMSV PA Program. 115. Upon information and belief, Defendants CMSV breached their express and implied contracts with Plaintiff, including their obligation of good faith and fair dealing with students in the PA Program. G. The Provost’s biased threat 116. Defendant Anthony Garofalo’s letter dated October 15, 2023 (Exhibit 7), was certainly closely read by the Provost, Dr. Lynn Bongiovanni, before her final decision as Provost was issued. 117. Defendant Garofalo letter misstated the facts, thus injecting untruth into the CMSV decision-making and infecting it with unlawful bias. 118. Specifically, in Defendant Garofalo’s letter dated October 15, 2023, he misrepresents the facts by stating that one of his rationales for upholding Plaintiff’s expulsion was Plaintiff had engaged in: “signing [Plaintiff’s] name to a letter of reference within the CASPA application process as a Physician Assistant-Certified ….” See, Exhibit 7. 119. Yet it is absolutely clear that Plaintiff never wrote the words “Physician Assistant- Certified.” (emphasis added). 18 18 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 120. In her letter dated November 29, 2023, Defendant Bongiovanni, as Provost, wrote to Plaintiff that: “Having committed this misrepresentation may impact your ability to obtain licensure after graduation, which is something that the College must consider as it allocates limited program openings to the students who are most likely to continue on to a successful career as a practitioner.” (emphasis added) 121. The most logical inference from Provost Bongiovanni letter was that the Provost was stating to Plaintiff that CMSV would be reporting her purported professional misconduct (“misrepresentation”) to other entities, including but not limited to the New York State licensing authority for physician assistants. 122. Accordingly, this was, it appears, a promise by CMSV and Defendant Bongiovanni to defame Plaintiff in the future; to interfere with prospective advantage; to interfere with prospective contractual inventions and otherwise to maliciously disadvantage the plaintiff in her future endeavors. 123. The letter may also be seen as racist, xenophobic and anti-Muslim, as the letter states that CMSV will allocate its resources away from Plaintiff (a Muslim woman of Pakistani ancestry) for her alleged “misrepresentation” in favor of non-Muslim, non-Southwest Asian students who are “most likely to continue on to a successful career….” 124. Upon information and belief, the only way Plaintiff would be blacklisted in the PA profession due to alleged “misrepresentation” would be for one or more of the Defendants to communicate the accusation (and supposed findings) to outside entities. 125. This threat from defendant Bongiovanni, upon information and belief, was intended to stifle and squash any hope Plaintiff may have had for continuing a PA education elsewhere. 19 19 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 126. As such, it served as a means to reduce the number Muslims from Southwest Asia in the physician assistant workforce in the New York metropolitan area. 127. This also amounted to an unlawful restraint of trade. 128. It is an especially obnoxious restraint of trade, as described elsewhere in this complaint, because it seeks to hinder and exclude Muslims of Southwest Asian origin from the PA profession in the New York metropolitan region. H. Willful Actions Warranting Punitive Damages 129. Upon information and belief, the Defendants’ conduct was intentional, willful, conspiratorial, wanton, and designed to discriminate against, punish and penalize Plaintiff on account of her race, ethnicity, national origin, and religion. 130. Thus, Defendant’s conduct warrants an award of significant punitive damages, in order to deter such conduct in the future. I. Mitigation of Damages 131. Plaintiff has diligently attempted to ascertain whether it is possible for her to become enrolled elsewhere in order for her to become qualified as a licensed physician assistant in the state of New York. 132. As a practical matter, it will be virtually impossible for Plaintiff to become enrolled in another physician assistant curriculum or program at any other regional hospital or school because of the fact that Plaintiff was discharged from Defendants’ program for allegedly “misrepresenting [her] credentials.” 133. Defendant Bongiovanni’s letter emphasizes this point. 134. Moreover, even if it were possible for Plaintiff to re-enroll in another program, in order for Plaintiff to become qualified as a physician assistant, she would have to re-enroll as a 20 20 of 32 FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 03/26/2024 04:30 PM INDEX NO. 805075/2024E NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/27/2024 beginning student for such studies and clinical program, thus requiring her to devote similar time as she has already expended, and expense as she has already paid, to the CMSV. 135. Physician assistants’ current starting salaries in the New York metropolitan area are averaging approximately $100,000, with earnings averaging approximately $170,000 after five years’ experience. 136. Upon information and belief, Plaintiff’s wage-earning potential without the degree and certificate denied her by Defendants, is only a fraction of what her potential would be with such University degree and physician assistant certificate. FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION— BREACH OF CONTRACT 137. Plaintiff repeats and realleges the prior paragraphs above as if repeated here again at length. 138. Plaintiff and CMSV entered into a contractual relationship when, after Plaintiff applied for admission to CMSV’s PA Program, she was accepted for admission and enrolled. 139. This contractual relationship was and is governed by basic principles of contract law, including covenants of good faith and fair dealing, as well as by CMSV’s various stated policies and handbook(s). 140. Defendant CMSV breached his contract with Plaintiff in various ways, including but not limited to: failing to provide her with the basic due process promised by CMSV’s student handbook and policies; wrongfully determining that Plaintiff was in material breach of her contractual obligations as a student based upon one innocent mista