Irvine Valley President Sues College District

Just when it seemed the action at the South Orange County Community College District had moved from the courtroom to the classroom, the legal system got involved once again.

Six months ago, a judge threw out Irvine Valley College President Raghu Mathur’s lawsuit that claimed a professor and an administrator had violated his privacy by publishing documents from his personnel file.

In a lawsuit he filed last week, Mathur blames his bosses.

Mathur has sued the community college district, saying it had breached its duty by not keeping the file confidential, which led to “a hostile work environment”; and that it didn’t take steps to stop harassment from occurring.

The suit also says the district should have to pay any money Mathur lost in the failed lawsuit he filed against philosophy professor Roy Bauer and Terry Burgess, the college’s former vice president of instruction.

Monday, Bauer and Burgess received a check for $32,000 in legal fees and costs from Mathur. An Orange County Superior Court judge had ordered Mathur to pay $34,000, but the two sides settled on the lower figure.

Mathur could not be reached Tuesday for comment. His attorney, Michael Corfield of Laguna Beach, did not return phone calls.

District officials declined to comment.

The lawsuit centers on the Dissent newsletter circulated by Bauer, a leading Mathur critic. The college president in his lawsuit repeats his charges that the newsletter printed threats and racial slurs against him.