Woodfield suits move forward

University graduate Lisa Topol is currently involved in three lawsuits stemming from 1993 sexual harassment allegations against former Assistant English Professor Malcolm Woodfield. Topol is suing Woodfield in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court and is suing the University and Bates College in federal court. Topol, who was a student in Woodfield's class, claims she was involved in sexual relations with him during the first three months of 1992. In March 1994, Topol filed a suit against the the University. In it, she claims the University violated her rights by failing to resolve her complaint over an extended period of time. Topol's suit against Bates College claims administrators withheld information about other sexual harassment charges against Woodfield while he taught there for two years. Philadelphia Magazine's upcoming October 1994 edition includes an in-depth article about the sexual harassment scandal between Woodfield and Topol. Many people involved with the case are interviewed.Topol said she was enthusiastic about how the article turned out. "I thought for the most part the article was fair," Topol said in an interview yesterday. "I thought it was a well organized and very thorough." The suit against Bates College is currently in its discovery phase. Discovery is the initial part of a suit in which each side discloses all its information to the other side. Topol's attorney, Alice Ballard, said lawyers for Bates College have tried to dismiss the case on the grounds that Bates did not have a legal obligation to tell the University about Woodfield's past history at Bates. She added that Bates' attorneys also tried to get the trial moved from Philadelphia to Maine, where the college is located. Mary Kohard, outside counsel for the University, said Judge Anita Brody is allowing discovery to continue. According to Kohard, Woodfield's new attorney, Richard Freeman, has not entered his appearance in court yet. The University has been named as a co-defendant in Topol's case against Woodfield in Common Pleas Court. Topol is currently working as a paralegal for a prominent Philadelphia law firm. She is considering law school in the future. Woodfield and Freeman refused to comment for this article. The attorney for Bates College, Maureen Mirabella, also declined to comment at this point in the case.

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