Gordon Klein v. UCLA Trial Update – Cross of Prof. Klein Wraps Up, Dean Bernardo Takes The Stand

Gordon Klein v. UCLA Trial Update – Cross of Prof. Klein Wraps Up, Dean Bernardo Takes The Stand

On Wednesday, July 9, 2025, trial continued in the case of Prof. Gordon Klein versus the UC Regents and UCLA business school dean Antonio Bernardo. Legal Insurrection has been following the dispute since inception. Our prior trial reports are here:

• Trial Starts In Suit Against UCLA By Prof. Gordon Klein, Targeted and Smeared For Refusing Exam “Leniency” For Black Students
• Gordon Klein v. UCLA Trial Update – Expert and Student Take The Stand

On July 9, counsel for UCLA, Sandy McDonough, resumed her cross-examination of Prof. Klein. She introduced comments from a few student course evaluations from Prof. Klein’s past classes to suggest that UCLA had reason to suspend Prof. Klein on June 4, 2020. McDonough presented evidence that some students over the past 20 years had complained about the price of the course reader used in Prof. Klein’s class, his lack of accessibility outside of the classroom, and that he was condescending and dismissive. Prof. Klein noted that these are a handful of complaints among the 25,000 students he has taught over his 44-year career.

McDonough moved on to a July 6, 2020 grievance Prof. Klein filed in response to having been called a racist. In it, Prof. Klein provided a detailed list of reasons demonstrating why he is not a racist. McDonough focused on one item on the list: Prof. Klein’s assertion that he is a professional jazz musician and a “lover of African American music.” McDonough challenged Prof. Klein asking if listening to African American music makes a person not racist. Prof. Klein countered that there is no single way for him to prove that he is not a racist, that he had provided a litany of facts in the grievance to support the conclusion that he is not a racist, and the facts that he: 1) minored in African American Studies in college, 2) co-taught a course on it with a Black colleague, 3) and has been invited to play music with Gospel singers contribute to that conclusion. He finished, “a racist could have been invited, … but it would be unlikely.”

McDonough ended the day questioning Prof. Klein about having sought publicity based on UCLA’s actions against him. Prof. Klein admitted to hiring a PR firm around the time he filed his lawsuit. He also conceded that he appeared on Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson’s television shows on Fox News because of the broad circulation for his story.

On July 10, McDonough continued with her cross-examination. She asked Prof. Klein about his statement on Tucker Carlson’s show that “they called me a racist.” She asked where, in writing, had the dean made such a statement. Prof. Klein replied that he never said it was in writing nor that the dean had said it. Prof. Klein clarified that he was referring to society in general and added that Dean Bernardo never discredited the idea. McDonough similarly referenced a line Prof. Klein wrote in an article entitled “Why I Am Suing UCLA,” in which he said he was “suspended for refusing to treat Black students as lesser than their non-Black peers,” and asked where in writing UCLA told him he was suspended for that reason. Prof. Klein explained that it was his view that he was suspend for refusing to treat Black students differently, and UCLA never refuted the statement.

McDonough then asked a series of questions related to Prof. Klein’s claim of damages vis a vis his expert witness business. She seemed to suggest that Prof. Klein underreported on his income taxes and in UCLA’s discovery request the work he did after the June 2020 negative publicity and employment suspension. Prof. Klein testified that he went to Australia for about two weeks in November 2024, having returned prior to Thanksgiving, partly for vacation and partly to work on a case that, he said, he ultimately was not paid for. McDonough then presented doctor’s notes that said Prof. Klein requested to reschedule a medical appointment because he was in Australia on December 1, 2024, and that he had been off his medicine for six weeks while in Australia, raising the issues of whether Prof. Klein had been in Australia in December, instead of only in the month of November, and for six weeks instead of two. Though not specifically asked, it appeared counsel was alluding to the possibility that Prof. Klein worked more than he stated, failed to disclose the total amount of income, and did not lose as much business as he claimed.

On the issue of emotional distress, Prof. Klein said he saw a doctor three times.

Next, the plaintiff called Antonio Bernardo as an adverse witness. Appointed Dean of the Anderson School of Management in 2019, Dean Bernardo joined UCLA’s faculty in 1994. He described his 25-year relationship with Prof. Klein as “collegial.” Prior to June 2020, Dean Bernardo admitted he had never heard a complaint about Prof. Klein.

Dean Bernardo said he takes responsibility for the decision to place Prof. Klein on involuntary administrative leave.

Dean Bernardo testified that on June 2, 2020 at about 4pm, he was forwarded an email that was originally sent to the Associate Dean of Marketing and Communications by a student with the subject line: “Professor Klein’s ignorant and callous statements about Black Lives Matter and covid,” which included Prof. Klein’s email reply to Giovanny, but omitted Giovanny’s initial email requesting special treatment for Black students. Dean Bernardo said he concluded that Prof. Klein’s email was “absolutely outrageous” and “inexcusable” without seeing either Giovanny’s email that precipitated Prof. Klein’s response nor Giovanny’s reply to it. Dean Bernardo stated that he objected to Prof. Klein’s email message in its entirety. He said that he found it “disrespectful” and “callous,” even though Giovanny testified that he did not.

Dean Bernardo maintained that, despite the first line of Prof. Klein’s email stating, “Thank you for your suggestion that I give black students special treatment,” he did not think Giovanny was asking for special treatment of Black students. He further maintained that even after he read Giovanny’s email request, he did not think it was clear that Giovanny was requesting preferential treatment for Black students. Ultimately, Dean Bernardo said that he determined Giovanny’s email did not ask for benefits to Black students. Asked if he still thinks that, Dean Bernardo responded, “I’m not sure.”

Dean Bernardo said he reached out to UCLA’s Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), known in other contexts as DEI, for assistance because that office has “experience with issues between students and faculty” and not because there is an issue of race in this matter because he did not think race was an issue.

Dean Bernardo acknowledged having a telephone conversation with Prof. Klein that same night he learned of the emails. He said, “I said what I needed to say and ended the call.” He admitted that he did not listen to Prof. Klein respond and that, to this day, he has never had a conversation with Prof. Klein about his side of the story. Likewise, he never asked Giovanny about the email exchange.

Internal emails sent among UCLA administrators, including Dean Bernardo, that same night were presented as evidence. Dean Bernardo was confronted with his written statements that: they needed to “look[] into how to deal with Gordon” and “in the meantime draft a response,” that “we must respond strongly.”  Dean Bernardo said that during this time he was gathering information as to what disciplinary measures against Prof. Klein were available. Via email, Dean Bernardo and his team of administrators sought information “about the process for disciplining Gordon and the potential actions we can take” and about “removing or discipling him” because “we are looking to remove Klein.” Dean Bernardo did not deny that he wrote an email to the Dean for Students at UCLA’s central campus notifying that a change.org petition calling for the firing of Prof. Klein had received 4,000 signatures. Dean Bernardo said the petition was important as a “measure of how big the reputational damage to the school would be.”

Dean Bernardo said that later that same night he received a copy of the tweet containing a screenshot of portions of an email Prof. Klein sent 3 months prior in March 2020 referencing a group of “favorite” students. Dean Bernardo said he thought it could have been an unrelated, bona fide complaint and denied that it was connected to Giovanny’s email or constituted an attempt to “pile on” Prof. Klein.

Dean Bernardo’s cross-examination continues on July 11.

Here is the current remainder of the trial schedule (subject to change):

• Plaintiff will continue to question Dean Bernardo on 7/11
• Witness Jordan Caskey will be taken out of order on 7/11
• Plaintiff expects to rest on 7/22
• Judge plans to cancel court on 7/25 due to a personal matter
• Defense expects to need 3-4 days to present their case

[Featured image Gordon Klein leaving the courthouse – credit Tasha Gailys]

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Tasha Gailys is a retired courtroom lawyer who sits in on trials every chance she gets. An alumna of UCLA, she currently lives in Austin, Texas.

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