Columbia Law Prof Banned From Depositions After Allegations Of Verbal Abuse, Intimidating Presence

ABA Journal, Columbia Law Prof Banned From 2 Depositions After Allegations of Verbal Abuse, Intimidating Presence:

A Columbia Law School professor has been banned from depositions in a trademark case after a former employee who was set to be deposed alleged that his post-traumatic stress disorder partly stemmed partly from the professor’s actions.

The professor, Eben Moglen, was banned from depositions in a Nov. 8 ruling by Judge Jennifer L. Elgin, an administrative judge at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, Law360 reports.

Moglen is the founder of the Software Freedom Law Center, a pro bono law firm that handles cases for open-source software-rights enforcement groups, Law360 explains. He is opposing a trademark for the name and logo of the Software Freedom Conservancy, which was part of Moglen’s group before Moglen fired programmer Bradley Kuhn, who left along with the group.

Elgin ruled that Moglen can’t attend the deposition of Kuhn or Karen Sandler, the lawyer for the conservancy who is Moglen’s former law student.

Kuhn said he suffers from PTSD partly because of Moglen’s “continued verbal abuse and occasional physical intimidation” while supervising Kuhn, Law360 reports. 

Law360, 'Going Home In A Body Bag': Abuse Claims Surface In Trademark Row