Date: February 28, 2012
Author: Martha Bellisle
URL: http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012120228030
Whittemore Peterson Institute seek millions in damages from fired researcher
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Now that a judge has ruled in favor of the Whittemore Peterson
Institute in a civil case against a researcher who took a laptop,
notebooks and files after she was fired, the two sides are fighting
over damages.
The Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease made world
headlines in 2009 after Dr. Judy Mikovits lead a team that discovered
a new retrovirus that could help treat chronic fatigue syndrome. But
the research was discredited last year and Mikovits lost her job. The
institute claimed she stole important research materials when she
left, a claim she denied. But Washoe District Judge Brent Adams signed
a default judgment last month in favor of the institute, saying
Mikovits failed to comply with his rulings on releasing materials in
the case. A hearing on damages is expected this week. The institute is
seeking millions in salary and research costs as well as lost
donations, while Mikovits' lawyer, Dennis Jones, said her actions did
not cause any harm.
Criminal charges against Mikovits are pending, said her criminal
lawyer, Scott Freeman. 'At this point, Ms. Mikovits has returned all
of the materials that she had in her possession and they all are in
evidence in the criminal case,' Freeman said. 'The only reason the
civil case was filed was because she didn't give them up fast enough.
But she has turned everything over.'
Meanwhile, the institute is defending itself against two lawsuits
filed by the Wingfield Nevada Group, owned by Harvey Whittemore's
former partners. The suits claim the institute owes Wingfield $1.7
million for using its staff and a company jet. The lawsuits are just
three on a list that Whittemore has been fighting in recent weeks. His
former partners, Tom and Albert Seeno Jr. of Concord, Calif., claim he
embezzled funds from Wingfield, while Whittemore claims in another
suit that the Seenos are guilty of racketeering. Two banks also sued
Whittemore for millions in unpaid loans. And a federal grand jury is
reportedly meeting Wednesday to hear testimony on Whittemore's
campaign contribution activities.
Following the judge's ruling on the claim against Mikovits, the
institute's lawyer, Tom Bowen, filed a list of documents in
preparation for a hearing on damages, which indicates they want to be
refunded all costs associated with Mikovits' work. One document shows
Mikovits was paid $693,485 since starting with the institute in 2007.
Another lists research costs totaling $2.3 million and grant
reimbursements that came to $655,838. The documents also claim the
institute saw a drop in donations of $133,100 after Mikovits left.
Bowen also submitted copies of emails between Mikovits and various
colleagues as well as a statement by Max Pfost, who worked with
Mikovits at the institute. After she was fired, she directed Pfost to
go into her office and collect her materials, he said. 'I expressed
some skepticism to Mikovits about whether she could take the research
and samples and stated that Dr. (Vince) Lombardi would take over the
projects and continue on behalf of WPI,' Pfost said in the affidavit.
'Mikovits stated that she was in charge of the research at WPI so
technically it was her research and she could move it somewhere else
at any time.'
Pfost said he went to WPI on Sept. 30 and took between 12 and 20
notebooks for Mikovits. He gave them to Mikovits on Oct. 16, he said,
and then she drove to Southern California. 'Mikovits informed me that
she was hiding out on a boat to avoid being served with papers from
WPI,' Pfost said in the affidavit. She was arrested Nov. 18 in
Ventura, Calif., after the Washoe County District Attorney's office
filed a criminal complaint alleging she stole computer data.
Mikovits' lawyer filed a trial statement last week in the WPI case
asking the judge to ignore the list of costs associated with salary
and research when considering damages in the case. 'WPI does not
allege that Dr. Mikovits did anything to harm WIP while she was
employed,' the statement said. 'All of the alleged tortious conduct
occurred after WPI terminated Dr. Mikovits.'
It also said that people who decided to stop making donations to the
institute did so only after Mikovits was fired. To support that claim,
Jones attached 20 emails from former supporters who said they opposed
the firing and would no longer make donations to the institute. 'I
would like to explain why I ceased donating to the Whittemore Peterson
Institute,' said Paul Kayes in one email. He said he donated every
month 'but when Dr. Mikovits was sacked' he said he lost faith with
WPI and decided he would no longer support the institute.
Another former donor, Annabel Luery, said the Whittemores were to
blame for WPI problems. 'If the WPI is suffering from a lack of
revenue then it is because of the actions of the Whittemores and
certainly not because of anything Dr. Mikovits either said or did,'
Luery said in an email to Mikovits' lawyer.
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(c) 2012 Reno Gazette Journal
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