Update Oct. 19: The Dec. 5. hearing for the case has been continued to a later date, according to online court records.
The parents of a 2016 Williamsburg Christian Academy graduate are suing the school, alleging the school violated a “contractual relationship” under its student handbook when it suspended the student and didn’t allow him to walk at graduation.
Jamie and Peter Van Bergen are seeking $100,000 in a case against the school filed May 29 in Williamsburg-James City Council Circuit Court, documents show.
The case is filed in regard to their son, John Van Bergen. The 19-year-old died unexpectedly in January while attending Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
The Van Bergens are suing on two counts, which include breach of contract and breach of implied contract. Parents and students annually pay tuition and enter written agreements confirming they have read the student handbook.
The handbook outlines the school’s behavioral standards for students, as well as the disciplinary process should a student misbehave. Punishments can include suspension, removal from, long-term out-of-school suspension and expulsion.
The Van Bergens allege the school acted outside of those guidelines in respect to their son’s behavior.
The Van Bergen’s lawyer issued the following statement:
“The suit filed on behalf of the Van Bergens seeks recovery on the basis that the Williamsburg Christian Academy failed to honor the commitments it made to the Van Bergens. The Van Bergens allege the school unjustly and unfairly punished their son while leaving others who committed serious disciplinary actions relatively unscathed. Furthermore, they have been informed that school personnel admonished other students to stand mute to what they knew to be the unfair treatment of their son.
In addition, the school failed to adhere to the Core Values and standards set forth in its student handbook. It also promoted itself as having faculty with professional accomplishments that cannot be substantiated. The Van Bergens entrusted the education of their son to a school that claimed to operate under certain standards, but which significantly missed the mark. The Van Bergens feel the facts need to be brought to light and they seek fair compensation for the money they invested at a school that failed their son and family.”
According to a complaint, the Van Bergens enrolled John Van Bergen for his senior year at Williamsburg Christian Academy in early 2016. The family paid tuition and made a “contractual commitment to pay the applicable tuition.”
The Van Bergens said their son was a student at the academy for eight years.
During his senior year, the Van Bergens allege their son was bullied and “persecuted” by certain faculty members in front of his peers because of his character, his beliefs and his attire, the complaint reads.
Matters worsened, the complaint alleges, when John Van Bergen suffered a reaction to medication on April 1, 2016, several months before graduation. He acted “irrationally” and “created a disturbance” in school after taking both his prescribed anxiety medication and over-the-counter allergy medication, https://ryderclinic.com/valium-diazepam/.
The reaction was, in general, inconsistent with his personality, the complaint says.
John Van Bergen was forced to leave school grounds alone and in his own vehicle shortly after the incident, documents say.
Afterward, John Van Bergen was suspended from school for 10 days. A meeting between administrators and the Van Bergens was delayed until April 12, 2016, at which point the Van Bergens were told their son’s suspension was extended through the end of the year, and he would not be allowed to walk at graduation, the complaint says.
At a second meeting on April 18, 2016, the Van Bergens provided medical information from their son’s primary care physician describing the medication interaction.
In a letter to the Van Bergens, school officials said John Van Bergen’s behavior on April 1, 2016, was part of a gradual escalation in behavior, and happened before the medication interaction.
Attempt to dismiss the lawsuit
H. Robert Showers, the lawyer for Williamsburg Christian Academy, filed a plea to dismiss the suit July 11.
The plea says John Van Bergen’s behavior was a “hostile, extreme and outrageous outburst.” The document also says the “remedial steps” were within the private school’s scope of disciplinary authority.
One year later, in April 2017, John Van Bergen signed a “general release” that awarded him $5,000 to compensate for his suspension from school. The release included a contractual agreement that he, nor anyone who has legal rights from him, could bring more lawsuits against the school in connection with the April 1, 2016, incident.
The plea states the active lawsuit filed this year is not valid because the April 2017 release prevented additional litigation.
An additional response by Showers, also filed July 11, states there is “no contract” between the school and parents, and a handbook is not a contractual document.
“Thus, as we stated in the court records, we believe that this case should be summarily dismissed,” Showers said in an email to WYDaily.
Update: This story has been updated with a statement from the Van Bergen’s lawyer, as well as information from the Van Bergens about how long John was a student at Williamsburg Christian Academy.
Sarah Fearing can be reached at sarah.f@localvoicemedia.com.
