A York-Poquoson Circuit Court judge has granted a motion claiming sovereign immunity to four former and current York County School Division employees named in a wrongful death lawsuit.
In an order issued to the court on Sept. 20, Judge R. Bruce Long agreed sovereign immunity exists for former Grafton High Principal Paul Hopkins, former Assistant Principal Craig Reed, current Assistant Principal Karen Fahringer and counselor Joseph Erfe. Due to the order, a jury trial scheduled for Thursday to consider whether all of the employees could be protected under sovereign immunity has been canceled. Sovereign immunity exists only for some charges in the lawsuit; a jury trial is still scheduled for next year.
Alise Williams, formerly of York County, filed a lawsuit against the four employees in July 2010, following the death of her son, Christian Taylor, over Memorial Day weekend. Taylor, a 16-year-old freshman at Grafton High, hanged himself at home. Williams alleges the school officials did nothing to stop the bullying of her son, which she said led to his death.
In Virginia, sovereign immunity does not invalidate a claim, but protects state employees who were acting in their official capacity. In February 2011, defense lawyer David Corrigan argued his clients were performing government functions in their leadership of the school, saying the educators exercise judgment and discretion in all of their supervision of students.
At that hearing, Williams’ lawyer, Oldric LaBell, argued sovereign immunity cannot be applied in instances where gross negligence can be proven. Substitute Judge Randolph West said a jury should decide whether sovereign immunity exists in this case.
The Code of Virginia also grants civil immunity for teachers acting in good faith, unless such acts or omissions were the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct. Gross negligence, in legal terms, is considered serious carelessness, far below the standard of care most people would expect. Simple negligence is a failure to exercise care that is considered reasonable or prudent.
The lawsuit filing said a male student aggressively and habitually harassed, verbally abused, insulted, threatened and bullied Taylor; it also said the unnamed student presented an unreasonable risk to the security and well-being of other students. Williams told school officials the male student had told her son, “You need to just go ahead and kill yourself and get it over with.”
The State Board of Education and York County School Board both require the prevention of all verbal abuse, according to the lawsuit. The case files have since been sealed to protect confidential records from the Department of Social Services, along with guidance and disciplinary records from York County schools.
The attorneys in the case are expected to meet for a conference on Dec. 7. A jury trial has been scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. April 23, 2013.
