Thwaits fate up to jury

PROVO — A jury was continuing to ponder late Thursday the merits of a former Brigham Young University professor's claims that he was unjustly terminated by the school.

Richard Thwaits, a former department head and teacher in the Y.'s animal science program, is suing the school over his firing in 2000 following allegations he improperly provided a controlled substance — a medicine routinely used in treating animals — to a student and also had improper physical contact with students.

Closing arguments wrapped up Thursday evening, and the case went to the jury, which had been deliberating 3 1/2 hours and had not reached a verdict as of press time.

After an investigation by school officials, Thwaits was placed on probation, then terminated, despite his "continuing faculty status," comparable to tenure at other colleges and universities.

Thwaits then sued BYU, alleging wrongful termination, breach of contract and breach of covenant of good faith, hoping to recover some of the financial loss — amounting to almost $970,000 — that his lawyer says Thwaits sustained because he was fired.

In closing arguments Thursday, Thwaits' attorney, Evan Schmutz, outlined what he called BYU's violation of its end of the contractual agreement and how it was easy to blame and defame the former employee.

"Never, in a single instance, did the university resolve a doubt in Dr. Thwaits' favor," Schmutz said. "Never did it presume his innocence."

Schmutz outlined a "path to destruction" strewn with "petty and flimsy" accusations from school secretaries and students against Thwaits.

The university and department officials took the accusations as truth, without interviewing others involved, Schmutz said.

Rob Clark, the attorney representing BYU, responded saying the sad situation of dismissing Thwaits was the result of his violating critical parts of the university's Honor Code. Those violations included allegations he wrestled with a female student in a hot tub and put a water balloon down a student's pants.

"Was the university (acting) in bad faith for questioning this and examining it?" Clark asked the jury.

Clark also reminded the jury of BYU's drug-free policy and its concern over Thwaits dispensing medicine to students — which happened more than once and involved the controlled substance Ativan. Thwaits denied the allegations during the school's investigation even though he eventually entered a no-contest plea to criminal charges of practicing medicine without a license in 4th District Court in 2001.