Harvard May Struggle to Beat Prof’s Lawsuit: Stephen L. Carter

After allegations of data fraud were made against behavioral researcher Francesca Gino, the tenured professor was placed on a two-year, unpaid leave by Harvard Business School and barred from campus. She responded with a 100-page lawsuit in which she adamantly denies wrongdoing. Critics have met her complaint with derision. I’ll freely admit that parts of her claim leave me unpersuaded. But not all.

Gino pleads 12 separate counts, ranging from defamation to sex discrimination to violation of privacy, and these are the claims that have grabbed the headlines. My scholarly side, however, is intrigued by a less-noticed assertion: that in ...