JOHNSTOWN – Ferndale Area School District in Johnstown wants a federal judge to throw out the bullying and assault lawsuit filed by a 12-year-old girl.
Ferndale filed a motion to dismiss on Sept. 19 the lawsuit of a plaintiff only known as T.B.
According to the lawsuit, T.B. is a female student who was previously enrolled in the Ferndale Junior/Senior High School, a school within the Ferndale Area School District into which the plaintiff moved at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year.
“Beginning the week after Labor Day weekend in September of 2019, T.B. began getting harassed by fellow female students, R.H. and A.H. These students called T.B. disparaging names on a regular basis, including “slut” and “whore.” R.H. and A.H. also began spreading rumors in the school that T.B. had a sexually transmitted disease,” the suit states.
“On numerous occasions, T.B. spoke with the Principal of the middle school [Robison] about the harassing conduct. Principal ignored the complaints. T.B. continued to be harassed both in school and on social media for months. She continued to inform Principal, with no redress.”
T.B. shared first, third, and fifth period classes with the girls in question, where she sat close to them, but the suit says their schedules and seats were never changed. At that point, T.B. began to hear rumors about being her assaulted at school by the same girls with whom she shared classes. T.B. told Principal about the rumors of being assaulted and Principal stated, “You’ll be fine” and proceeded to walk back into his office.
Subsequently, school guidance counselor Lori Dodson, called T.B. into her office to discuss the rumors Dodson heard about T.B. being assaulted at school. At that time, the suit states Dodson told T.B. that she wouldn’t let that happen and would take care of it.
“On or about Jan. 21, 2020, Principal implemented a 10-foot rule between T.B., R.H. and A.H. The following day, Jan. 22, 2020, T.B. was assaulted by K.K., the sister of R.H. The assault occurred in the hallway, and there was no adult supervision at the time. K.K. has a history of violence and engaging in harassing, bullying, and assaultive behavior within the school.”
“K.K. is known to fight with and for her sister, R.H. As a result of the assault, T.B. developed a concussion and was unable to participate in physical activities for approximately one month from Jan. 22, 2020 until Feb. 21, 2020. Ms. Bryner withdrew T.B. from school, after learning of the assault, on Jan. 22, 2020.”
The motion to dismiss says the plaintiff failed to sufficiently plead her Title IX claim because her allegations fail to supply details of when sexual harassment occurred at school or what it consisted of.
“Plaintiff’s claims concerning harassment on social media should be likewise excluded,” the motion says. “Even when viewing the complaint in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, there are no factual allegations concerning the identities of the harassers, the comments made on social media, the context in which this occurred, or any other facts or inferences to suggest that the District had substantial control over any conduct that occurred on social media.”