WATERLOO - Less than a week after being sued by grad student Lindsay Shepherd, Wilfrid Laurier University has been hit with a second lawsuit, this time from University of Toronto psychology professor Jordan Peterson.

In a statement of claim filed June 18, Peterson and lawyer Howard Levitt of Levitt LLP allege comments made by Laurier staff in a private meeting with Shepherd last fall were defamatory. Shepherd, who last week filed a statement of claim against Laurier for $3.6 million, secretly recorded that meeting and made it public.

Peterson is suing for $1.5 million. He is seeking $500,000 for defamation, $500,000 for injurious falsehood and $500,000 in punitive damages. The claims have not been tested in court.

Peterson's claim lists Laurier Prof. Nathan Rambukkana, Prof. Herbert Pimlott and former diversity and equity office employee Adria Joel, along with the university, as defendants - the same defendants listed in the Shepherd case, which is also being handled by Levitt.

Laurier says it will "vigorously defend" against both statements of claim.

"Laurier remains committed to intellectual inquiry, critical reflection, scholarly integrity, academic freedom and freedom of expression while striving to be a supportive and inclusive community," the statement says.

The school reaffirmed that commitment in late May when senators approved a statement that says the university embraces the "principles of free expression required in an academic environment," including those that may be deemed difficult, controversial or extreme.

Pimlott and Rambukkana, who are both on a temporary leave of absence from regular duties, did not respond to interview requests. Joel is no longer employed by the university.

Peterson wasn't immediately available for comment.

The Peterson claim alleges Rambukkana, Pimlott and Joel made defamatory comments about Peterson during a disciplinary meeting with Shepherd last November after she played clips of a televised debate between Peterson and Nicholas Matte about gender-neutral pronouns. Peterson argued against being forced to use such pronouns.

The claim alleges 14 defamatory statements were made during that meeting, including a comparison of Peterson's speech to a speech by Adolf Hitler, comparing Peterson's views to alt-right, white supremacist opinions, comments that Peterson was "academically suspect" and exhibits "charlatanism," and a statement that Peterson was "spreading transphobia."

Those statements "infer ... that Peterson is unsavory, sexist, misogynistic, dangerous, racist, homophobic, transphobic, analogous to Adolf Hitler, and incompetent in his profession ... " the claim argues. And while the university and its faculty had nothing to do with the release of the audio of that meeting, they should have "reasonably anticipated" that Shepherd would have informed others about what was said, the claim states.

The 42-minute recording has since been posted online, where "it is impossible to ascertain how many individuals" will be exposed to it, the claim states. Laurier has already apologized to Shepherd for the way the situation was handled.

Shepherd was told a complaint was made against her and that exposing the students to Peterson's argument was transphobic and created a toxic classroom environment.

The Peterson lawsuit comes just five days after Shepherd filed her own $3.6-million lawsuit. Her claim alleges harassment, intentional infliction of nervous shock, negligence and constructive dismissal.

Shepherd was "subjected to continuing abuse and a toxic climate from the university and its representatives" and has "suffered nervous shock as a result of the conduct of the defendants," the claim states.

In an interview with the Record last week, Shepherd said she doesn't care if she wins or loses the lawsuit.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

"It's about seeing what direction our university is going to go, and I think this lawsuit is going to be a big part of showing us that answer."