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This should be interesting to see how this plays out. Not a good look for IU on many fronts.
Not directly bad on IU. The professor, for sure.
More than likely…”They were”…
Those MBA students have now learned a valuable lesson. Keep your mouth shut.
Maybe this could be a case study for IU’s required MBA Law and Ethics for Business Leaders? Also might fit in somewhere at IU’s Maurer School of Law…
I wonder if this is similar to a scenario where a pharmaceutical company hires an IU medical professor and students to do research on a new unreleased product and they bring in a competitor pharmaceutical company who then takes the product information and launches their own version of the drug? Sounds pretty similar to me. If that’s the case IU may have a real problem.
IU is not a party to the lawsuit. If the plaintiffs thought they could hold IU responsible, they would have sued the school, but they chose not to do so. The only defendants are the professor, the specific students involved, and the competitor company.
Christopher, plaintiffs could add IU as defendants at anytime.
If you find yourself at a point in your life where you sue a professor and five college students at an institution you ‘love’ for $2 billion over a free student project, you might want to reevaluate your life choices.
Exactly, slapping $2b against a professor, students and an LLC that probably has no revenue is comical. Also a golf course in Puerto Rico is not exactly a new life saving biotech discovery. Were mistakes made, probably but get real $2 billion?
Kyle A., your dismissive comment not only belittles the serious nature of this case but also underscores an alarming lack of understanding regarding ethics, trust, and the foundational principles of business and law. The crux of the Sadlers’ lawsuit lies in the alleged breach of confidentiality, misuse of proprietary information, and the exploitation of years of hard work, vision, and investment—not the so-called “free student project” you trivialize.
These graduate students are not naive teenagers dabbling in a school project. They are adults, pursuing advanced degrees, who signed binding non-disclosure agreements. If they truly breached those agreements and disclosed sensitive information to an outside party, that constitutes a violation of legal and ethical standards. Contracts and confidentiality exist precisely to protect innovators and entrepreneurs from the theft of their ideas and investments.
Would you feel the same cavalier attitude if your years of toil, aspirations, and savings were snatched by others and used against you? Dismissing the Sadlers’ outrage as overreacting suggests you may not fully appreciate what it means to create something meaningful only to see it undermined by unethical actions.
This isn’t about suing for the sake of a paycheck. It’s about holding individuals accountable for their actions and protecting a project the Sadlers poured their “heart, soul, time, and money” into. That level of dedication and commitment demands respect, not mockery.
Kyle, your comment seems to reflect a lack of appreciation for personal responsibility and integrity. It’s this type of dismissiveness that fosters environments where ethical breaches are tolerated. Criticizing those who stand up for themselves only perpetuates a culture where wrongdoing goes unchallenged. That’s the real “reevaluation” needed here.
If I anticipated a $2 billion return from a project, I would make sure that the investment was truly secure and would then hire professional consultants and attorneys.
Kyle, your response ironically reinforces my original point. The Sadlers did take steps to secure their investment—by working with a reputable university (that they did not name in the suit), relying on legally binding NDAs, and expecting graduate-level students and their professor to operate with professionalism and integrity. The breach of those agreements and trust is exactly what led to this situation.
The Sadlers’ mistake wasn’t failing to secure their project—it was expecting honor and accountability from individuals who clearly failed to uphold them. Your argument essentially excuses unethical behavior rather than holding those responsible accountable, proving once again that it’s attitudes like yours that perpetuate this “sad state of affairs.”
Don, well-stated.
I’ve always thought MBA’s were a big scam, but this is ridiculous!