People lie in their resumes all the time, but rarely does it become a battle between two universities and include accusations of a disrespect of culture and honor.

A Korean university sued Yale after it mistakenly confirmed an art professor had earned a graduate degree at the Ivy League institution.

NYT: Dongguk University, a 103-year-old Buddhist institution based in Seoul, has accused Yale of negligence and a cover-up after it mistakenly confirmed a Dongguk professor’s claims of having a Ph.D. from Yale. Robert A. Weiner, the lead lawyer for Dongguk, said Yale’s response to the ensuing scandal added insult to the injury, and he denounced “the cultural arrogance of not recognizing the harm you’re doing in Korean culture.”

Yale argues that while it had made mistakes, it did nothing that merited court action.

Read the entire NYT article, which has the background facts (including information of the initial errant fax) here.

The professor at the center of the scandal is Shin Jeong-ah, who the NYT said was a "rising star in the art world" when she was hired by Dongguk in 2005.

But what may seem like a fairly small issue has grown into years long litigation -- the lawsuit was filed in 2008 asking for $50 million and accused Yale of defaming Dongguk, saying the Korean university "was publicly humiliated and deeply shamed in the eyes of the Korean population.”

Settlement talks have broken down and Weiner, a partner at McDermott, Will & Emery, says newly filed documents will prove Yale continued to lie after they knew of the mistake. Yale returned fire -- “[W]e think the jury will certainly consider the fact that the chairman of Dongguk’s board was convicted of soliciting and receiving an illegal government subsidy from Ms. Shin’s lover, who was an adviser to the Korean president,” its representative said.

And while that exchange is not funny, the two sides are also not shying away from somewhat amusing jabs. When a Yale grad and McDermott partner said Yale is not living up to its university seal, which touts "light and truth" in Latin, the Yale representative responded, "I have no idea what that means."

At the very least it means that a lie on a C.V. has turned into a very ugly lawsuit.