Silverman & Associates obtained dismissal by the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, for our client, the Mount Vernon City School District on plaintiff's claim that defendant allegedly retaliated against her for making sexual harassment complaints.
Plaintiff was a per diem school teacher in the district. The Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources questioned plaintiff about a sexual misconduct complaint she had made a couple years prior. While investigating the incident, plaintiff was removed from the substitute teacher list. Nonetheless, plaintiff continued to substitute teach. The Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources informed the plaintiff she had been insubordinate and could longer serve as a substitute teacher.
Plaintiff brought this suit alleging that the defendant's decision to suspend and terminate her employment with the district was retaliation for her complaining about sexual harassment. Defendant successfully argued that plaintiff's claims of retaliation were not filed in a timely fashion and the Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. The Court granted summary judgment.
Silverman & Associates obtained summary judgment dismissal by the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York for our client Islip School District, on plaintiff's claims arising from the American Disabilities Act (ADA) and Rehabilitation Act.
Plaintiff was a fifteen year old boy with Klinefelter Syndrome, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), anxiety disorder, epilepsy, Tourette's syndrome, developmental delays, mild mental retardation, brain trauma and autism. As a result of these disorders, plaintiff suffers from involuntary movements and comments, and involuntarily performs rituals which require him to move and curse involuntarily. Plaintiffs alleged that over the course his education within the district, he had been the target of continuous discrimination, and bullying by his teachers, administrators, and students.
We successfully argued that the Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the plaintiff failed to exhaust remedies required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and there were no triable issues of fact regarding discrimination. Plaintiffs argued that exhausting administrative remedies would be futile. The Court disagreed, and so lacked subject matter jurisdiction, and could not consider ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims. Defendant’s motion to dismiss was granted.
Silverman & Associates obtained a decision from the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York granting defendants’ summary judgment motion to dismiss plaintiff’s First Amendment retaliation claims.
The plaintiff, an elementary school teacher, was transferred from a special education position to a self-contained position. Plaintiff wrote letters and emails to District leadership and the New York State Education Department contesting her assignment transfer and expressing concerns about District policies and practices. An investigation of the plaintiff followed findings she had erased documents on her computer and had been in her classroom with others in violation of staff access and school visitor’s policies.
We argued and the Court agreed that the speech at issue is not protected under the First Amendment because she spoke as a public employee, not as a private citizen. Furthermore, the subject matter involved her professional duties as a teacher and the content resulted from knowledge gained through her employment as a teacher. The Court granted summary judgment and closed the case.
The Court granted our summary judgment motion in the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, for our client, the Roosevelt Union Free School District on plaintiff's claims of discrimination, false arrest, false imprisonment, conspiracy, and assault.
Plaintiff was a first grade teacher in the district. She claimed new school officials, both African-American, targeted her because of her age and race. She is white and in her sixties. She alleged they criticized her and assigned her an overwhelming number of students. After a meeting with the principal, plaintiff had a panic attack and expressed she wanted to kill herself. Law enforcement was contacted because of her actions and plaintiff was excused for the rest of the day. Law enforcement hospitalized plaintiff against her will for psychiatric observation. This action results from these events.
The Court found no evidence in the record to support plaintiff's discrimination claims. The district staff members were not present when plaintiff was arrested so the false arrest and false imprisonment claims fail. The assault and conspiracy claims also fail, as the district was not personally involved in the arrest. The Court granted summary judgment to the defendant.
We successfully obtained a dismissal of claims of violations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) against the Bedford Central School District. Plaintiff alleged that her enrollment and education at an elementary school in the District resulted in her being denied a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) under the IDEA.
In kindergarten the plaintiff was classified as Limited English Proficient (LEP) and she received instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL) program. According to Plaintiff, she felt upset and experienced embarrassment from being placed in these programs. Plaintiff struggled in school. In the fifth grade she was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and became eligible for classification under the IDEA.
Plaintiff claimed that the District failed its obligation to find children with disabilities who are in need of special services. We argued that the plaintiff’s claims were barred because she failed to exhaust all administrative remedies when asserting a child-find claim under IDEA. The Plaintiff has not done so here, as the claims are not the kind that courts excuse exhaustion. The Plaintiffs claims were dismissed.
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