Former med student claims Northwestern breached contract by expelling him

A former student is suing Northwestern University's medical school over claims he was unfairly expelled.

Sanjay Saraf filed a lawsuit Oct. 1 in the Cook County Circuit Court against Feinberg School of Medicine/Northwestern University, alleging a breach of contract.

According to the complaint, Saraf was a medical student on full scholarship at Northwestern until he was expelled on Dec. 10, 2013 for allegedly communicating in an untruthful manner with a faculty member.

Saraf claims, however, that he did not receive the grounds or evidence against him until Jan. 27, which violates the student handbook.

He alleges he already received the three physicianship forms for unprofessional behavior that was allowed before a student was required to appear before the Student Promotions Committee, but the fourth incident was merely a miscommunication.

The complaint states Saraf was working in the lab of Dr. Sajiv Shah, who requested he contact an acquaintance about the work they were doing, and Saraf's reply turned out to be erroneous. When he attempted to clarify by saying he had an oral communication with the man, Saraf claims Shah accused him of telling "white lies" and told the dean.

He accuses the defendant of breach of contract, claiming his expulsion did not fit the alleged infraction.

Saraf is seeking a court order to restrain Northwestern from expelling him and damages to compensate for the stigma that he asserts will affect his education and employment.

He is being represented by Edward Copeland of Schuyler, Roche & Crisham P.C. in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court case number: 2014LCH15869.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.