Architect Alejandro Zaera-Polo has filed a lawsuit against Princeton University for libel and breach of contract, after he was asked to step down as head of its architecture school over allegations of plagiarism.
The architect, who was head of Princeton University School of Architecture until his forced departure, is claiming damages and legal costs against his former employer on four counts.
Zaera-Polo's lawyers initiated a civil action against the university yesterday, submitting a civil action complaint to the Superior Court of New Jersey.

Related story: Princeton accuses former architecture dean of making "inaccurate" plagiarism statement

"This is an action for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage, trade libel, and defamation," states the complaint, which was leaked anonymously to Dezeen. Zaera-Polo confirmed he had initiated legal action but did not comment further. "I filed a lawsuit in the New Jersey courts," he told Dezeen.
The lawsuit relates to a series of events in 2014 that culminated in Zaera-Polo's departure from the School of Architecture at Princeton in October that year.
The university, regarded as one of the most prestigious in the world, asked the Spanish architect to resign amid claims he had used plagiarised written material in texts prepared for the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale, where he curate...