The civil case filed by the estate of late Feinberg Prof. Jane Wu against Northwestern and Northwestern Memorial Hospital will proceed, the estate’s lawyer confirmed Thursday to The Daily.
Wu’s estate filed the civil case against NU in June, alleging discrimination based on her race or national origin and gender, which contributed to Wu’s decision to take her life a year earlier.
The Tuesday hearing was the most recent time the Circuit Court of Cook County checked on the status of the case, as both parties used the time to file motions and amend documentation.
The court decided Tuesday to advance the case by allowing written discovery. Now, both sides of the case may begin to gather evidence and prepare arguments.
The estate’s lawyer, Thomas Geoghegan, declined to comment on the litigation. However, he told The Daily in August that Wu’s “rights were violated, and we intend to seek redress.”
The University also declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Following a 2019-2023 National Institutes of Health investigation into Wu’s alleged ties with China, NU cut her pay and closed her lab in May 2024.
Later that month, Chicago and University Police removed Wu from her office in handcuffs, which “bruised her hands and wrists,” in advance of the approaching NIH grant deadline, according to the case filed in June. It added that police had Wu checked into the psychiatric unit of Northwestern Memorial Hospital “by force and against her will.”
Asian American Scholar Forum and Federation of Asian Professor Associations submitted a letter Feb. 12 to NU, signed by over 1,000 scholars nationwide. It called for NU to acknowledge and apologize for its treatment of Wu.
“Northwestern University and Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s treatment of Dr. Wu has shocked many in the research community and resulted in fear within the academic and research community, especially those of Asian descent,” the letter read.
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