Dismissal of lawsuit against Harvard “with prejudice” proves Professor John Comaroff right

The years-long campaign to defame and destroy the career and reputation of respected Harvard professor of anthropology and African and African-American studies John L. Comaroff collapsed on Wednesday with the dismissal “with prejudice” of a civil suit brought by three graduate students against Harvard University. While the settlement does not require the plaintiff to pay court costs and associated legal expenses, the outcome discredits their campaign and effectively proves Professor Comaroff right.

When a case is settled “with prejudice,” it means the case is permanently closed and plaintiffs cannot file another lawsuit with the same claim. This finality means that the lawsuit brought by graduate students Margaret G. Czerwienski, Lilia M. Kilburn, and Amulya Mandava – who alleged without facts or evidence that Professor Comaroff was guilty of sexual harassment and sued the university for failing to take action to remove him – was fundamentally flawed and without merit and cannot be brought again.

The aspect of being free of charge only alleviates the financial burden, but does not reduce the negative legal consequences of termination without notice.

The disgraceful end of the trial, which should never have been brought, is another major blow to the #MeToo campaign of recent years. Since 2017, this campaign, which goes against essential principles of a fair trial, has been destroying people's careers on the basis of unproven allegations and insinuations.

In response to the failure of the smear campaign against Comaroff, the three graduate students' law firm, Sanford Heisler Sharp, issued a flippant statement on Wednesday: “We are pleased that our clients can now move on with their lives and careers.” In other words, after wreaking havoc with their vindictive and selfish witch hunt, they are now free to embark on their next adventure.

For Professor Comaroff, however, the smear campaign resulted in his resignation from Harvard on June 30 without receiving emeritus status, an honor bestowed upon most professors in the School of Humanities and Sciences upon their retirement.

John Comaroff was born in South Africa and attended the University of Cape Town, where he began his studies in anthropology. He taught at the University of Chicago for 34 years with his wife, Jean Comaroff. The couple came to Harvard in 2012.

In May 2020, after a scandalous article by Harvard CrimsonThe university administration has placed Professor Comaroff on leave pending an investigation into allegations of “unwanted touching, verbal sexual harassment, and professional retaliation.”

In his response to the allegations made by the students to Harvard's Title IX office, Comaroff wrote in an email that he “denies all allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation” and said that the Harvard administration's actions against him were “prejudicial to the fair adjudication of all claims” and “a violation of Harvard University's sexual harassment policies and procedures.”[e]dure's confidentiality rules.” He was also asked by the Anthropology Department not to teach a course.

At the end of the investigation, the university found that Comaroff was “solely responsible for verbal sexual harassment that arose from a brief conversation during office hours. The advice he gave concerned the student's physical safety during field research.”