University of Michigan responds to professor's lawsuit

University of Michigan attorneys say a former assistant professor's claimsÂ against university employees - ranging from defamation and fraud to false imprisonment - are untrue.

Andrei Borisov, an Ann Arbor resident and former non-tenured research assistant professor in the U-M Medical School Department of Pediatrics, says in a lawsuit that his allegations of research fraud led to employment downgrades and false charges of physical threats by his employers.

After turning in his resignation rather than being terminated at a Sept. 4, 2008, meeting, campus police readÂ BorisovÂ a trespass warning. He was then arrested for resisting arrest and disturbing the peace, according to the lawsuit. Following his arrest, he was told via letter that an offer for another position had been withdrawn, the suit states.

Borisov is suing several former U-M colleagues over the events that led to his resignation. In a separate but related criminal trial in April 2009, he was acquitted of the criminal charges.Â He's seeking damages in excess of $25,000 in the lawsuit.

Donald Miller, an attorney with Detroit law firm Butzel Long, filed a response to Andrei Borisov's complaint in Washtenaw County Circuit Court. The response maintains Borisov was arrested because of assaultive behavior with U-M Department of Public Safety officers.Â

The attorney's new response suggests Borisov's complaint inflated his contributions to a research lab. It denies any plagiarism or false reporting to funding agencies on the part of Borisov's co-workers.

The chair of his department was concerned about reports that Borisov was following people to their cars in the parking lot and other "unusual, erratic and sometimes frantic behaviors," according to the response. The chair was concerned for the safety of faculty and staff, the response states, which is why campus police officers were present at the Sept. 4 meeting. Borisov's suit denies those behaviors.

Defendants in the civil lawsuit, filed in Washtenaw County Circuit Court in August, include Mark Russell, assistant professor of pediatrics and communicable diseases; Valerie Castle, chair of pediatrics and communicable diseases; Margaret Gyetko, professor of internal medicine and U-M Medical School associate dean; and Jeffery Frumkin, associate vice provost and senior director of academic resources.

In response to the civil lawsuit, university officials said they wouldn't respond to specifics but would vigorously defend the employees. University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald declined further comment this week.Â

Borisov's attorney, Christine Green, was not available for comment.

Green is requesting a jury trial. The case has been assigned to Circuit Court Judge Donald Shelton.

Juliana Keeping covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter