Henry Kissinger once said “University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small.” As I would tell my 21-year-old self if I ever ran into him today, that inverse ratio holds true by several orders of magnitude when it comes to student government. Yvette Felarca was disqualified in a student government election in a squabble over rules; she claimed (with the aid of precedent) constitutional violations and sued, which caused election delays because the government didn’t want to have to count votes twice; the student government changed the rules to give her her seat; the federal court dismissed the lawsuit as moot with leave to refile; and Felarca did just that. Faced with a demand to pay her legal fees of $15,000 or spending more than that defending themselves, the student government capitulated, and Felarca got both her $15,000 to drop the suit and presumably also law-school-application essay material. (Traci Kawaguchi, “ASUC to Settle Suit for $15,000”, Daily Californian, Feb. 11; “Editorial: ASUC-ing Money Away”, Daily Californian, Feb. 15; CalStuff blog, Feb. 12; Tina Nguyen, “Federal Judge Tosses DAAP Lawsuit Against ASUC”, Daily Californian, Nov. 16; Yvette Falarca, “Senator Justifies Lawsuit”, Daily Californian, Aug. 31).
Posts Tagged ‘schools’
Sues university over B-minus grade
Bob Whitney, 52, is suing the University of Nevada, Las Vegas after getting a B-minus grade from a history professor who Whitney says discriminated against him because of his conservative beliefs. “He seeks at least $10,000 for emotional duress, tuition, books and living expenses.” He also “claimed [Eugene] Moehring’s fast-paced lectures prevented him from taking complete notes,” and says a graduate coordinator humiliated him by yelling at him in front of his wife. (“Student sues university over grade”, AP/CourtTV, Feb. 4).
“Father sues over grade”
Another parent’s pro se complaint: this time Luping Qu is suing the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, “asking a judge to overrule a teacher who gave his daughter a bad grade.” (Raleigh News & Observer, Feb. 1).
Welcome Observer (UK) readers
London’s Observer quotes me today on the subject of litigation against schools and in particular the case of Peer Larson, the Wisconsin high school student who’s suing to challenge the right of his honors math teacher to assign homework over the summer (see Jan. 21). (Richard Luscombe, “Homework-hater takes his maths teacher to court”, Jan. 30). Follow the links for more on school litigation and on cheerleader suits (here and here and here.) (In case it isn’t clear from the context, by the way, my mention of large dollar settlements isn’t intended to refer to cheerleading-squad cases). And since overlegalization and the compensation culture are by no means limited to the U.S., we’ve also got a UK section.
“Mr. Litigious”
Litigation as hobby: “Meet Peter Malley, a former math teacher who has filed 18 federal lawsuits against the city after he was fired by the [New York City] Board of Education in 1987.” (Carl Campanile, “Courts $pank Frequent Filer”, New York Post, Jan. 24).
Summer homework? He’ll sue
In suburban Milwaukee, 17-year-old Peer Larson wants to be in teacher Aaron Bieniek’s honors pre-calculus class, but isn’t happy about the homework assignments Mr. Bieniek required students to do over the summer. So he and his father are suing Mr. Bieniek, various school officials, and the Whitnall School District, saying summer homework assignments shouldn’t be allowed. (Jamaal Abdul-Alim, “Homework during summer vacation prompts lawsuit”, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Jan. 19). Update Mar. 15: judge dismisses suit.
“Public-interest lawyers cash in on classroom suits”
“Lawyers who recently won a very big public-interest lawsuit to make San Francisco schools more accessible to the disabled apparently hope that the case will produce some very big benefits for themselves as well — like $9 million in fees….
“Jose Allen, a partner at the San Francisco firm Skadden Arps, is asking for $810 an hour…. Allen is a local partner of the giant, New York-based Skadden Arps firm — whose Web site touts its commitment to pro bono law work.” City officials are protesting the fees as exorbitant, but lawyers say the city can if necessary sell off surplus property to pay the bill. (Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross, San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 17).
Annals of zero tolerance: 8-inch scissors
In North Philadelphia, ten-year-old Porsche Brown was pulled out of class, handcuffed and taken to the police station after scissors were found in her book bag. “School district officials acknowledged that the girl was not using the item as a weapon or threatening anyone with it.” (Susan Snyder, “Scissors get girl in legal trouble”, Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 11) (via Balko). The police and schools chief have now apologized. (Maryclaire Dale, “Police? school chief apologize for schoolgirl?s arrest over scissors”, AP/Lansdale Reporter, Dec. 15).
Mutiny of the bounty-hunted, cont’d: Calif. schools
Under California law, if school districts do not comply with public records requests within a stated period, they can be liable for requesters’ legal fees. In July and early August, as many officials were leaving for vacation, various Bay Area districts received requests for “school board members’ statement of economic interest — a document that details an elected official’s investments”. When the statements were not forthcoming within the prescribed period, lawsuits promptly followed demanding legal fees. The requesting organization, which calls itself Nolex Group, turns out to be run by a lawyer and to have no immediately visible purpose other than filing the requests. The Emery Unified district settled for a reported $2,500, but others resisted, with one defendant’s lawyer calling the action a “holdup lawsuit” and another saying that “These guys are trying to line their pockets at the expense of schoolchildren.” After the local news media took an interest, Nolex, which appears to be based from the Walnut Creek home of attorney Scott Hammel (with help from attorney Byron Done), “said it planned to drop six suits it had filed against San Mateo County school districts.” Hammel has vehemently denied improper motivations. (Jahna Berry, “Calif. Schools Blast Records Request as ‘Holdup Lawsuit'”, The Recorder, Nov. 24; “Lawyers Target Schools For Easy Money”, KRON, Oct. 21; Ethan Fletcher, “Alleged shakedown suit dropped”, San Francisco Examiner, Dec. 7).
Colleges and suicide
Return of in loco parentis, cont’d: if you’re a student who gets reported for having potentially suicidal thoughts, the college administration these days may require you to take a medical leave of absence off campus until you can show you’re better. That’s not necessarily the best outcome for you, but it’s the outcome that best protects the college from future liability suits, which have been multiplying in recent years following attempted and successful student suicides. (Karen W. Arenson, “Worried Colleges Step Up Efforts Over Suicide”, New York Times, Dec. 3).