“You are getting sleepy…very sleepy. Now you are getting generous…very generous.”

Last week, a jury awarded oncologist Dr. Kevin Murphy $39 million as a result of his lawsuit accusing UCSD of retaliation and wrongful termination following a battle over the use of a $10 million donation from one of his former patients. UCSD was simultaneously suing Murphy for fraud and breach of duty, and the jury said he had to pay the university $67,000 — “just to show we’re interested in justice and fairness,” according to the jury foreman Larry Swaide.

Murphy and the university clashed over the proper use of a donation from cancer patient Charles Kreutzkamp, now deceased. As proof that the money was supposed to go to him, Murphy produced a letter allegedly written by Kreutzkamp’s widow Ernestina, which stated that the money was to be used by Murphy for his research into using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for the treatment of Brain Fog, among other neurological difficulties. At the trial, she said that she did not ask for, write, or read the letter, but nevertheless somehow later came to believe that Murphy was the intended recipient of the donation.

During the trial, Murphy claimed that university officials attempted to change the trust controlling the donation; this claim was refuted. He claimed to know the Kreutzcamps well, despite not finding out that Charles had died until months after the fact. Then, during her testimony, Ernestina Kruetzcamp said, “I’m going crazy; this is too much for me.” At that point, Dr. Murphy intervened and treated her with his trusty pocket watch, which he told her his research had determined was “a sure defense against Brain Fog.” She thanked him for his assistance, and then told the court that she could not remember some of her conversations with Murphy and UCSD. Opposing counsel objected to what appeared to be a clear case of witness tampering, and the judge appeared ready to sustain, but Dr. Murphy again pacified the situation with his watch’s pendular motion.

Finally, he turned to the jury, his watch still tracing its lazy arc through the still courtroom air. “Ladies and gentlemen, you have been told that I am at best a crank, and at worst a crook. But isn’t the real criminal here UCSD, a very wealthy institution that doesn’t want to share a measly $10 million with a struggling scientist who only wants to help suffering souls? Don’t you think they could spare, say, four times that amount without batting an eye? Brain Fog is a terrible condition. Who knows what wonderful progress my research might make, what powers, er, therapies I might develop?” Following six weeks of testimony; the jury reached its verdict in less than a day.