I should imagine that this was intended as a reference to courtesy. Without any explicit disclaimer before the work was conducted, imposing that sort of condition after the event would be an interesting case to raise a grievance (or lawsuit) against.
Might we presume that, if your girlfriend is switching supervisors, there have been issues with the conduct / professionalism of the previous supervisor? In which case, it might explain why the message was worded / communicated as poorly as appears to be the case. Of course, I would hasten to add that many academics don't have the most developed interpersonal skills in the world, so it could just be ineptitude and inexperience on the previous supervisor's part...