Court Dismisses Jewish Student's Discrimination Claim Against Seton Hall

In Vaynberg v. Seton Hall University, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112634 (D NJ, Oct. 21, 2010), a New Jersey federal district court dismissed a religious discrimination claim brought against Seton Hall University by a Jewish student who was dismissed from the school's doctoral program in physical therapy for failing to maintain a 3.0 GPA. Plaintiff Farakh Vaynberg alleged that one of her instructors, Dr. Kim Poulson, refused to excuse her from class on Yom Kippur and told her to choose between her faith and her school work. She claims that this exchange made her feel compelled to take a mid-term exam on Yom Kippur in a second course offered by a different instructor who had in fact excused Jewish students for Yom Kippur. The court found  no causal connection between Dr. Poulson's alleged conduct and Vaynberg's dismissal because Poulson gave Vaynberg some of her best grades. She also failed to present evidence to support her claim that meetings with Poulson after an unsatisfactory grade in her clinical practicum (which did not count in her GPA) upset her so that she performed poorly in other courses. Finally, according to the court, no state action was shown to support Vaynberg's First Amendment free exercise claim.