I'm often protective of professors, but ironically enough, here's a recent opinion from the Court of Appeal involving a $20 million judgment against a full-time, tenured professor at Stanford. And not an unknown professor either; the judgment debtor is Stanley N. Cohen, who basically discovered recombinant DNA in the 1970s.
The Court of Appeal finds in his favor, but it's likely only a temporary reprieve, because the remand is so the trial court can issue a more robust statement of decision sufficient to permit appellate review. I'd bet a ton that the judgment's going to come out the same way, but at a minimum, this buys Professor Cohen a little more time.
We'll then see if, eventually, the Court of Appeal affirms or reverses on the merits.
